The Pastor's Wife
by mandzipop
Summary: In 1869 newly ordained minister Stefan Salvatore & his wife Elena move back to his hometown of Mystic Falls as the local minister. After the death of their father, his older brother Damon took over the family business. Damon learns dark secrets about Stefan & Elena's marriage. When he tries to help her, love ensues. Rated M for mature content. AU AH
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **So this is a story I've been thinking about for a very long time. It wasn't intended to be a Delena story, however I am able to adapt it in a fashion. The premise of the story is the same, just the characters and some other details are different.**

 **This is different as the story is AH and AU, which is a new approach for me. All of my other stories have had links with the show, this one does not.**

 **I am not abandoning Inaction's and Consequences, I have the next chapter started, but depending upon how this story is received, I may put more time into this one until it is finished. I expect it to be a little bit longer than Entombed in the Past, although hopefully not by too much.**

 **This first chapter is mainly an introduction to the situation, more of a prologue than anything.**

 **The story is rated M for later content.**

 **I hope you enjoy it.**

Elena looked out of the window of her carriage. It was spring, the trees were turning green once more and spring flowers were shooting up from the ground. It was a nice change of scenery from the hustle and bustle of Chicago, but scenery would be the only thing nice about it. She was making her first trip to Mystic Falls, the birthplace of her husband Stefan and where he was starting his new appointment as the local Methodist minister. It was a small town in Virginia, and Stefan was the youngest son of one of the founding fathers, the late Giuseppe Salvatore.

They pulled into the drive as the carriage made it's way up to what was a large antebellum house, presumably Stefan's childhood home, which had now passed down, along with the family business to his older brother Damon. Elena had never met Damon as his late wife Katherine had been on her deathbed at the time of hers and Stefan's wedding. Since her passing, he'd thrown himself into the family business and hadn't had the chance to visit his brother and new wife in Chicago. Not that Elena cared, one Salvatore was enough for her, if Stefan was anything to go by, two would be intolerable. However, Elena knew there was more to the story as to why Damon hadn't visited than Stefan had let on and had only discovered the snippets he allowed her to learn since.

Unfortunately for Elena, this was what she would have to endure for the next few months while hers and Stefan's new house was being built. Damon had reluctantly agreed to let them stay there until the new property was finished, as Damon had insisted they allow the family of now late Pastor Young, to continue to live in the home they'd resided in for almost fifteen years. Instead Damon was paying for a new house for Stefan and Elena to move into. Although this may have seemed like a generous gesture, it was more likely to do with not wanting to have Stefan living with them too long. There was clearly bad blood between the brothers, although Stefan wouldn't tell her what it was about, although it was clearly related to Katherine. Not that she would dare ask, Elena didn't want to risk the wrath of Stefan's anger. She just hoped Damon was less volatile.

"We're here." Stefan told Elena, who simply nodded and cast her eyes down.

Elena had a role to play. She was the dutiful, subservient wife of the local minister. Stefan was the man of god, and his word was absolute. However, Elena did wonder if god would wholly approve of her husband's behavior. The man in front of the crowds, preaching to them, delivering the word of god, was not the same man she knew when they were alone in their home. According to Stefan, she was just a mere woman who knew no better.

The carriage drew to a stop and Stefan quickly jumped out, leaving Elena to wait for their driver to bring the step and help her disembark. She got out and took a look at the large house. It was a beautiful large white plantation house with green shutters. However Elena's heart sank. Size made no difference to the prison of her bedroom. The perfect marriage she thought she'd into, which was now more of a sham. She took a deep breath as she headed towards the door, where it appeared nobody was there to greet her now Stefan had left her there and the driver was taking their luggage from the back of the carriage.

Suddenly a woman who was clearly a servant, appeared in the doorway.

"Good afternoon to you madam." the woman said "Are you Mistress Elena?" she asked.

"Good afternoon to you. Yes I am." Elena replied.

"Mister Salvatore asked me to come and attend to you. My name is Emily." she curtsied and smiled, which put Elena immediately at ease.

"My husband is gracious." Elena replied.

"Not Master Stefan. Master Damon." Emily told her. "He says he's sorry he couldn't personally greet you, but an emergency came up, one of the workers out in the field has gotten hurt." she said. "Would you like to come inside?" she asked as Elena nodded.

Emily led them inside to a hallway. This house was grander than anything she'd ever been in before, which said a lot, considering Elena was the daughter of a wealthy doctor from Chicago. She knew Stefan was from a very wealthy family, with a large plantation and logging mills, but she never expected this type of grandeur. In Chicago they'd had a large home with staff, but nothing on this scale of grandness. Elena could tell the house looked much smaller from the front facade as it was covered with some trees. Once inside there seemed to be a maze of rooms, which she knew was going to take a little time to get used to.

Firstly Emily showed her the parlor, then the dining room. After that was the library, the informal sitting room, a music room. the study plus a multitude of smaller rooms for the staff to prepare for various occasions. There was even a small ballroom. There was a set of steps to what Elena assumed was the kitchens, wash rooms and probably some of the servants quarters.

After the downstairs tour, Emily showed Elena upstairs to the various rooms. Elena counted what looked to be seven different bedrooms. Much to Elena's dismay, Emily showed Elena to hers and Stefan's room. Shed been hoping they would be sleeping in separate beds, to give her some respite from him, but according to Emily, Stefan had been adamant they slept in the same room. Stefan had never mentioned their sleeping arrangements, but Elena had hoped etiquette would prevail and she'd be allowed her own room, but clearly Stefan wanted the world to see the farce of them trying for a family. Not that it was likely to happen, Stefan was usually too drunk to manage anything other than what would only be determined as an almost immaculate conception.

Deciding to make the best of a bad situation, Elena wandered around the bedroom and the servants who were putting their clothes into the closets and drawers. There was a doorway, which led a separate room for bathing which housed a beautiful porcelain bath and matching wash basins and chamber pot. There was another door which was a hidden stairway to allow the servants to fill the bath and change the chamber pots without walking through the main house.

When Elena returned back to the bedroom, most of the servants had finished their unpacking, it was just Elena's jewelry which needed to be attended to. Most of it was her mother's, therefore it held enormous sentimental value. Deciding she didn't want to risk anyone breaking anything, she offered to put her boxes away herself. This left just her and Emily alone in the room.

"Where is Master Stefan?" Elena finally asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"I believe he went straight to the study to find Mister Salvatore. He didn't come out, therefore I assume he stayed to wait for him." Emily replied awkwardly.

"Thank you Emily." Elena smiled. "I'll go wait in the parlor." she said as she went downstairs and sat down on the couch. "That will be all." she added as Emily nodded and left Elena to her own devices.

Elena stood up and began to look at the paintings around the room. There were various family members, including Stefan's father, Giuseppe Salvatore and his mother Lily. Stefan's mother had dies when he was only ten and his father when he was seventeen. As a result of his father's death, Stefan had decided to join the church and become a minister. His brother Damon had taken over the family business and had soon married a woman called Katherine. From what Elena could gather, Katherine had been toying with both Stefan and Damon, however once their father died, she chose Damon. Elena could understand why, as Damon was clearly a man of wealth and would make a very respectable husband. However, she knew this was partly the reason for the bad blood between the brothers, something of which Stefan refused to talk about with her.

Stefan hadn't been without inheritance, but he told Elena he'd refused the wealth in favor of becoming a member of the clergy. When he told her this, Elena foolishly believed him, but that was before they were married, when two years ago Elena was young and naive. Since then she'd learned a lot of things about her husband, and she suspected his inheritance had been secretly spent on alcohol and gambling. Certainly not the godly things he preached in church.

When Elena met Stefan, she thought he was perfect. A trainee minister, handsome, respectable, gentle and loving. Or so he appeared on the surface. Her father had been proud of match his only child had made, however Elena suspected he might feel differently if he knew the real story. Stefan had manipulated many truths to gain Elena's hand in marriage. The first thing he failed to mention was Katherine. As far as Elena had known, Katherine was simply Damon's wife. It was only after they announced the wedding did Damon tell Stefan about Katherine being pregnant. Although his reaction to the news hadn't concerned her at the time, looking back it was clear something was amiss.

After he'd heard the news of Katherine's pregnancy, he'd disappeared for a week. Elena had been frantic with worry. However when he returned he told her he'd been to see Damon to congratulate his brother in person. At the time Elena hadn't the faintest idea of how far Mystic Falls was from Chicago, so she believed he would have made the journey there and back within a week. After making the journey herself, she knew he'd been doing something else. Something she didn't dare ask about. Not that she cared any longer. However, it had made one thing abundantly clear, he was upset about Katherine's pregnancy.

Matters were further compounded when Katherine was taken ill ten days before their wedding. She died the day they got married, along with the child. Stefan was devastated, far more than one would expect for his sister-in-law whom he barely saw. As they were newly married, Elena had not met Stefan's temper, therefore one day just after the wedding, while he was at church, Elena had gone through some of Stefan's things. There she found letters between him and Katherine, some dated recently. She even found a photograph of her. That startled Elena as she noticed she bore an uncanny resemblance to Damon's wife. As she began to read the letters, she was shocked by the content. Elena didn't understand a lot of it, but she was fairly certain the letters were of a sexual nature. What was abundantly clear was their relationship had continued after she'd married Damon and he'd joined the church. Elena even wondered if Stefan had still been having sexual relations with Katherine while he was courting her; and even whether the baby might have been Stefan's. But she'd never gotten that far as Stefan had arrived while she was reading his secret correspondence.

This was the first time Elena had felt Stefan's fist. He didn't touch her face, or any part which could be seen by the public, instead he thumped and kicked her in the stomach. When he saw he had hurt her, he apologized profusely, telling her it would never happen again and that she had driven him to it. Elena understood, she'd gone though Stefan's private things and it was wrong of her to do so without asking, therefore she'd deserved the beating, or so he said. As his wife, Elena had a duty to stand by Stefan and not complain. His word was law, and as a man of god, his word had even more credence.

Katherine's letters were not all Elena found. There were empty whiskey bottles hidden around the house. This surprised Elena as Stefan had always seemed completely sober, and as a Methodist minister, he preached abstinence from alcohol. At first he'd continued to keep them hidden from her, but eventually he stopped hiding the fact he was getting drunk.

Elena couldn't be sure the alcohol had started after Katherine's death or whether he'd been hiding it from her all along. What she did know was how much it was hindering them having a baby. The night before she got married, her Aunt Jenna had gone through what to expect from her wedding night. Jenna was her mother's sister and as the only female figure in her life, Jenna had gone about explaining to Elena the ins and outs of the bedroom in typical Jenna fashion, which was the scandalous method. Her aunt was already married, thus she went into great detail about what to expect, including suggestions of how to avoid pregnancy.

This information, although helpful in theory, had turned out not to be of much use to Elena. Stefan was too distraught about Katherine's illness and probable impending death on their wedding night, that they slept in separate beds. This continued for the first two weeks of their marriage. Then when Stefan found out about Katherine's death they'd shared a bed. However it wasn't anything like what Jenna had described. There was no pleasure derived from the act, instead it was cold and callous on Stefan's part, as if he were punishing her for Katherine's death.

Since then, they'd shared the same bed every night. Sometimes he would want to 'fuck her' as he would describe it. On her part, Elena would just lie there and let Stefan get on with it until he was finished. However as the alcohol intake increased, the less he managed to finish. He was usually asleep before he had the chance, and Elena would have to gently push him off her, so he didn't wake.

Just a couple of weeks after Stefan first performed his conjugal duties, she bled as usual, a sign she was not with child. Elena didn't know whether to be happy or sad about that fact. Maybe Stefan would mellow with the presence of a child, or maybe it would further fuel his temper. She couldn't be certain. What was completely aware of was Stefan's disappointment in her lack of pregnancy. He was absolutely livid and blamed it on Elena, although she knew he had played some part in it. She felt his fists once more, again hiding the bruises he'd caused her. This time he didn't apologize, he claimed if Elena hadn't just lain there like a dead fish, they'd have more chance of conceiving a child.

Elena wasn't entirely sure whether or not this was a lie, therefore the following month she tried to move about a little bit to see if it made a difference. However once again all Elena got was her monthly bleed and Stefan's fists in her belly.

As time went on, Elena would find herself on the end of Stefan's fist more and more frequently. Even for small things such as there not being fresh flowers every day in the house. It had got to the point where he would beat her instead of speaking to the servants when anything was out of order, even when whatever happened, had nothing to do with Elena.

After two years of marriage, Elena had lost touch with her friends. She felt alone in the world, even though she still had her beloved father and Aunt Jenna. However as a woman, she had no say in her own future. As the wife of a now ordained church minister, divorce was completely out of the question. Her only role in life was to have children, to pretend to enjoy being part of the church and to take beatings from her alcoholic, abusive husband. All she could do was pray for some divine intervention to save her from the cycle of abuse she was receiving at Stefan's hands.

Instead of being answered, god seemed to want to make her life even more miserable. Stefan had received word he was to return to his home town of Mystic Falls and take up the role of minister at the local Methodist church as the previous Pastor had passed away. This meant Elena now had nobody to turn to. Instead she would probably have to become more active in the community, which would be difficult considering how much pain she was usually in from the bruises Stefan inflicted upon her.

The only hope Elena had was the familiarity of Mystic Falls having a calming influence on Stefan, which in turn could lead to less alcohol and fewer beatings. It was unlikely, but Elena could only hope this would be the case.

Suddenly Elena heard a commotion and a man's voice which she did not recognize.

"You mean to say my brother has been alone in the study all of this time?" the man said angrily. "Didn't anyone think to have every bottle of whiskey removed before they left him there?" the man, who Elena presumed must be Damon, didn't seem to wait for an answer. "Of course not. You all know what he is like, he'll have gone through an entire bottle by the time I get there." he snapped, his voice and footsteps growing louder as he neared the parlor.

Elena was shocked by this statement. It was clear his brother was fully aware of Stefan's alcohol issues, which begged the question as to how long his drinking problem had been going on. Suddenly the footsteps stopped outside the door to the parlor and Elena heard somebody say something quietly, although it clearly wasn't Damon. Elena smoothed her skirt, just in case she was about to meet her brother-in-law.

Suddenly the parlor doors swung open, there stood the owner of the voice. The man in front of her shook her to her core. He had raven hair and the most stunning blue eyes Elena had ever seen. Damon was the most attractive man Elena had ever laid eyes on. It took all of her might to not blush at the sight of him. The thought which went through her head to stop herself was that Damon was Stefan's brother and Stefan was also handsome, although nowhere near as comely as Damon. But Stefan had a black heart, the inside was as ugly as the outside was beautiful. If this were to apply to Damon, Elena dreaded to think how awful he could be. That last thought sent a shiver of unease down her spine, and Elena wished to be anywhere else than in the room with another Salvatore.

Damon walked over to her and bowed. "Good day dear sister. I hope I find you well." he said as Elena offered her hand for him to kiss.

"Thank you dear brother." Elena curtsied. "I am very well. And yourself?" she asked.

"I am much better now I have had the pleasure of finally meeting you." he replied with a genuine smile which lit up his entire face.

All of a sudden there was the noise of a slamming door and approaching footsteps. Damon turned to look in the direction and Elena glanced up only to see Stefan in the doorway.

"Damon." Stefan said angrily.

"Hello brother." Damon scowled.

 **I would really like some feedback on this story as to whether I should continue with it or not. There will be dark themes, which I'm sure is already quite obvious from the opening chapter, but I do assure you this version is a Delena story.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews, you have all been really supportive. They have really inspired me to keep going with this story.**

 **As I say it is out of my usual comfort zone, so fingers crossed how I go with it, although I do have the ending written in stone, so unless people hate it, there is no reason for me not to continue with this story.**

 **Right now I do not intend to write a Stefan POV as it might reveal too much.**

 **I have decided to make the chapters in this story a little bit shorter than usual (not by much). That way I can update more frequently.**

 **This chapter is from Damon's POV, as some more background information is needed for the story to progress.**

Damon was in a foul mood. Today was the day he'd been dreading for the past month. The foul mood had started ever since it had been announced his younger brother Stefan would be permanently returning to Mystic Falls as the new church minister. Damon and Stefan were barely on speaking terms, not that any of the other founding families knew about that snippet of information. Therefore when the church announcement was made, Damon had to smile and pretend to be enthusiastic about the choice. So much so he decided to let his brother and new wife stay with him until Damon had finished building their new house. He wasn't going to let Pastor Young's family be thrown out of their home for the last fifteen years, especially as Eliza still had young children to raise.

To make matters worse, Stefan had a new bride in tow. Damon had never met her as his beloved Katherine was died on their wedding day. She had taken ill a few days before they were due to travel to Chicago for the wedding. Katherine had been six months pregnant at the time, and much to his devastation he lost both Katherine and their unborn child in one day. He saw the the marriage of his brother as a bad omen, although the fact Stefan had married another woman out to bed his suspicions of Katherine still visiting him behind Damon's back when she went on her trips to see her family who lived in Atlanta.

As much as he loved Katherine, Damon had always had a feeling her relationship with Stefan had never reached full closure. He had no reason to suspect Katherine was being unfaithful, it was just a gut reaction. Before their father died, Katherine had, unbeknownst to both brothers, been toying with each of them. This had only emerged after Damon proposed to Katherine and she'd agreed to marry him just after the death of their father. Stefan had gone on one of his alcohol fueled angry tirades, especially when he discovered their father's Will had not been changed to favor him. Instead his brother had told Damon he'd been having an affair with Katherine, before, in a surprise leaving to join the clergy. According to Stefan, his reasoning was to atone for his sins of having sexual relations outside of marriage.

Damon knew that wasn't all Stefan was atoning for. Their father Giuseppe hated Damon. He had everything ready to change his Will while Damon was off fighting in a war he didn't believe in, just to gain his father's approval. Stefan on the other hand was the son who both his parents had adored, and who his father, if he had his own way, would have handed the family business over to. But to keep up the ruse of a perfect founding family, his father had arranged a match for Damon in Katherine Pierce, an orphan of good stock, who came from Atlanta. Her parents, who were friends of his father, had died in the fires, therefore Giuseppe took her in, in the hope of making a match with Damon to try and calm his wild ways down.

This tactic would have worked as Damon fell head over heels in love with Katherine the moment he met her. She was beautiful, lively, funny and intelligent, everything Damon had ever wanted in a woman. Unfortunately, just two days before her arrival, in rebellion to his father's matchmaking, Damon had signed up to the Confederate army to join the Civil War. With hindsight, this turned out to be a huge mistake.

Like everyone else, Katherine became fond of Stefan. At first Damon was glad she had someone to keep her occupied as Damon himself adored his younger brother. But he began to worry about how close Stefan and Katherine were becoming. Damon eventually left the war and resumed the courtship of Katherine as his father had planned.

Damon leaving the army had not gone down well with his father, who was a staunch confederate supporter. Therefore when he told Stefan and Damon he was changing his Will and Stefan would inherit everything, Damon didn't particularly care. What Giuseppe didn't know was Damon had already been investing his money in various ventures over the years, and although he wouldn't be as wealthy as he was now, or if he inherited the plantation and logging mills, Damon would have a good income and would have more time to branch out, into owning stables and breeding fine thoroughbred horses.

All of this changed when not long after Giuseppe's announcement of the Will changing hands, did his father have an accident and fall down the stairs, breaking his neck and dying instantly. Damon had been out riding at the time, therefore no suspicion of foul play was ever considered. However Damon had his doubts. His brother had been at home that day and had been drinking, a habit his father was unaware of. When the whiskey disappeared faster than Giuseppe liked, the blame would squarely sit on Damon's shoulders, as nobody would believe the steadfast, saintly, Stefan of all people would be one who would favor the liquor more than the wild, reckless Damon.

Damon couldn't be sure, but he had a suspicion that Stefan might have had something to do with his father's death. The timing was too coincidental, and if Damon had indeed been written out of the Will, he didn't fancy his chances with Katherine as it would be an embarrassment for a woman of her social standing, to marry a son who had been shunned by his father.

Therefore it had been a great shock to the brothers when the the reading of the Will revealed their father hadn't changed the details. Stefan would receive a large lump sum when he turned eighteen the following month and Damon would inherit the business. Their father's solicitor did confirm Giuseppe had been in touch with him a few days earlier and they had an appointment for the following week, but Giuseppe had been vague regarding what the changes to the Will would entail.

Once everyone had left, Stefan had again gone on one of his alcohol fueled binges. He left town for a few days, so neither Katherine nor the locals knew of his actions. However, Damon himself had Stefan followed, which alerted him to what his brother was really doing. What did surprise him was Stefan spending the last three days of his disappearance in church. His brother had never been particularly religious, therefore this was a total shock.

When Stefan returned, he declared he was going to join the clergy to atone for his sins. He was relinquishing alcohol and leaving to become a Methodist minister. Damon was fully supportive of this move, and set up a trust for Stefan which would pay for his education and give him a lump sum on top of the inheritance their father had left them. This way Damon knew Stefan would be far away from him and Katherine, which would allow them to get married.

Indeed when he proposed to Katherine, she immediately agreed, much to Stefan's indignation. The night before he left, Stefan told Damon he'd already bedded Katherine, and that her heart would never fully belong to Damon. The next day, after Stefan had left, Damon confronted Katherine, ready to call the marriage off. She admitted to her affair with Stefan, however she claimed it had been when Damon was away at war and she'd heard a rumor Damon had been killed in battle. Stefan had been there to comfort her and in her innocence, one thing had led to another. Ever since she had felt a great guilt for her actions and promised Damon she loved only him. Damon forgave Katherine as it wasn't unusual at the time for rumors of the death of a beloved one to incorrectly be heard in town gossip.

They had gotten married, although Stefan was unable to attend Damon and Katherine's wedding, as he was unable to get leave from due to important exams. As Damon and Stefan were no longer on speaking terms, it had been a great relief to Damon that his brother would not be attending. Katherine herself had seemed indifferent to the matter, although Damon suspected she was possibly offended.

Once they were married, he and Katherine were happy. Without Stefan around they were a very close couple, deeply in love and the envy of the town. Unlike many men in Damon's position, he had no need to find a mistress, Katherine was more than willing to engage in wifely duties. The only part of their marriage Damon didn't particularly enjoy was when Katherine visited what little family she had left in Atlanta once a month. She would be gone for just over a week, but she always came back happy and refreshed from her time with her aunt and cousins. Katherine would regale him with her stories of a Spa they would visit, which apparently had wonderful health benefits.

Over time, Damon had agreed the Spa was a good idea as even though they had been married over a year, Katherine had yet to become pregnant. Therefore one month Damon suggested Katherine spend a little longer at the Spa than usual. He would be away on business himself and didn't like the idea of leaving Katherine alone for long as she easily became bored. So Katherine went to Atlanta for three weeks, and had spent nearly every day at the Spa. This had worked. Within the month, much to their great joy, Katherine had fallen pregnant.

Not long after, Stefan notified Damon of his impending marriage to the daughter of a wealthy Chicago doctor. This had surprised Damon as he suspected Stefan would take a while to get over Katherine. He was finally happy for his brother and was greatly looking forward to their wedding.

To prepare for the big day, three weeks before the wedding, Katherine had gone to Atlanta to visit the Spa. When she got back she was taken ill with a fever, which turned out to be cholera. As nobody else suffered, it was deemed she must have been contaminated on her way back from Atlanta. When Katherine died, Damon had been inconsolable. It had felt like nothing in the world mattered to him anymore. That however came to an abrupt end when he began to go through Katherine's correspondence.

Instead of finding letters from her family in Atlanta, most of her correspondence had been from Stefan. Although the letters had been carefully written by his brother as there was nothing in them to arouse a great deal of suspicion, it was the subtext which bothered Damon. He felt Stefan was addressing Katherine with too much familiarity for his station. He also had a feeling some of the content was coded, as it appeared to make little sense. What also raised his suspicions were the fact that the letters had been sent to her family home in Atlanta and not to Mystic Falls, meaning her trips there had been to pick up letters from his brother, and not necessarily to visit the Spa she so raved about. This meant only one thing, Katherine clearly didn't want Damon to know about the letters. Therefore Damon had concluded, Stefan and Katherine were much closer than he had ever realized.

Damon eventually wrote to his brother and confronted him about the letters. Stefan wrote back and told him he had been bedding Katherine all of the way up until she married Damon. Although Katherine had stayed physically faithful to Damon, she had still been in love with Stefan, not Damon. Regardless of his proclamation of innocence, Damon couldn't be certain his brother was telling the truth. Stefan might technically be a man of god, but it didn't change the person underneath.

All in all, this had made Damon angry. He felt betrayed by his wife and his brother, therefore all pictures of them in the house had been removed. As the only portrait of him was with Katherine, there was nothing of himself either. The only family portraits were of his parents and various ancestors.

Damon had never told anyone of Katherine's potential indiscretions, even if they weren't of a physical nature, the emotional betrayal had deeply scarred him. He vowed he would never marry again, and was hoping his Stefan and his wife would provide the heir to the Salvatore fortune. Not that he didn't have physical relations with women. He had a particular woman in the brothel to keep him satisfied when needed. However he refused to entrust his heart to another woman, no matter how beautiful or apparently dutiful.

Damon had written to his brother and told him as much, ans asked to be informed if such a happy occasion did occur. However Damon had heard nothing in relation to any such good news. Stefan even suggested maybe his wife, who he was told was called Elena, was barren. Damon hoped not, as he didn't want to be forced into a marriage of inconvenience. Not that there were a lack of offers. Damon was not only wealthy, but exceptionally handsome and known to be of a genteel disposition. Although admittedly, he hadn't been quite the same since Katherine's death. However, most believed he was still mourning over the wife he adored, and Damon let them believe that as it was less shameful than the truth.

The prostitute he frequented, Victoria, told him there were wagers in town of who Damon would choose to be his next wife. The popular choice was Caroline Forbes, daughter of the Sheriff William Forbes and also a member of the founding families. Caroline was beautiful, and Damon knew the household would be run with absolute precision. Unfortunately for Caroline, as far as Damon was concerned, beauty was only skin deep. Her downfall was her personality as she annoyed him because she never stopped talking. He would never know a day's peace unless he sent her to the fake Atlanta Spa for three weeks of the month. He felt he could cope with her presence for one week per month at the most.

This was the reason Damon had ensured Stefan and his wife shared the marital bed. He had corresponded with Stefan who had agreed with the decision as he understood the necessity of producing an heir. Damon suggested the stress of the city might not be doing Elena any good and thus preventing her from conceiving. Or even it may actually be gods will that she were to conceive in the family home instead, as the city was not the place to raise a healthy child.

Instead of giving Stefan his old room, Damon had redecorated his father's bedroom so they could have a larger bed. Damon had always been a fan of bigger beds, determining they promoted better sleep. He had removed one of the bedrooms next to the Master suite and turned it into a bathroom. This room was linked to the hidden stairs, which would allow water to be delivered for the bath in secret, as well as changing the chamber pots.

Damon, on the other hand, had taken to his mother's room. It wasn't the largest, but he and Katherine had shared the Master suite when they were married, and Damon no longer wished to sleep in the bed they once shared. Again the household had not found this strange as they believed their Master was grieving the death of his beloved wife.

As that was the room where both he and his brother had been conceived, and Damon had gotten Katherine pregnant, maybe it was suited for the task. However, Damon had considered, the reason for his brother's wife not being pregnant was whether his brother was up to the task. On more than one occasion, Damon had fallen foul to one too many glasses of whiskey and he knew exactly what effect on a man it had. Not that he drank a lot, but on a couple of occasions in his youth, he'd had the embarrassment of being intoxicated while trying to bed a woman. It wasn't something he wished to repeat again. Ever since, he knew not to mix overindulgence of alcohol with carnal pleasures. They were a bad combination and could result in issues which would possibly make it difficult for a man to get his wife with child.

Damon couldn't be certain, but he knew his brother didn't deal with grief well, and if his reaction to his father dying was anything to go by, he suspected Stefan may have taken to the bottle once more. He hoped not for the sake of Stefan's new wife, as Stefan could be aggressive when overly intoxicated. Not that he believed his brother would be capable of hurting the girl, Stefan was too much of a gentleman for that. He was also a man of the cloth, and being of a certain nature was expected. Damon was convinced Stefan would have the utmost respect for his wife, even if he had been secretly in love with another woman at the time.

However this did not deter from the facts of nature. Should Stefan be drinking once more, the chances of him producing an heir were certainly diminished. Damon just hoped he was wrong and his brother had stayed sober. He should considering he was a Methodist minister and the abstinence of alcohol was the official practice of the church. On the other hand, Damon knew from experience, the clergy did not always practice what they preached. He had spent many an evening with Pastor Young and a glass of whiskey. Not that Damon was religious, but the man had become a firm friend, which was why Damon wanted to make sure the deceased Pastor's family still had a roof over their heads after he died.

Damon had decided he didn't particularly want to be around when his brother and his wife arrived. He knew is wasn't exactly protocol, but he didn't particularly want to see Stefan, and any woman stupid enough to marry his brother, probably wasn't worth the time or effort. Instead he manufactured an excuse, telling the staff one of the workers was injured and he had to go and look into it. In the meantime, if his brother arrived, they would have to sort them out. Instead Damon had gone for a ride on his favorite mare to clear his head.

When Damon returned, he discovered his brother had already arrived and was waiting for him in his study, while his wife was alone in the parlor. Damon cursed, he'd made sure there was no alcohol available in the house except for the study, which nobody, including Stefan, was to be allowed to enter. He'd given the staff strict instruction to not let Stefan anywhere near his study.

Unfortunately it turned out Stefan had threatened them and had gone inside regardless. He'd threatened to break the door down if they didn't let him in, therefore, understandably they'd done as Stefan said. This behavior confirmed Damon's worst fears about his brother; Stefan's behavior reeked of alcohol probably as much as his brother did. Angrily, Damon made his way to the study, however one of the maids, Emily, told him Stefan's wife Elena was waiting alone in the parlor, and maybe it would be wise to meet her first. Emily told him she seemed nice enough; shy and nervous, which was probably as a result of the huge change in her life.

Damon took a deep breath and opened the doors to the parlor. The woman he saw on the other side was nothing like what he expected. As his brother was a member of the clergy, he thought the girl would be someone fairly drab, simply there to do his brother's bidding. Instead he saw, a woman who could only be described as the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. He noticed she vaguely resembled Katherine insofar as her coloring was concerned; she was a brunette with olive skin and brown eyes which reminded him of chocolate. However that was where the similarity ended. This girl was far more beautiful than Katherine could have ever wished to be, which begged the question as to why Stefan had kept in touch with Damon's wife, while at the same time courting the girl in front of him. The only answers he could think of was either the girl had a dull personality, or Stefan was so in love with Katherine, he was blind to the woman he was marrying.

Pity washed over him. This girl was in all likelihood subjected to Stefan's alcoholic ways, which was not proper behavior. For some reason, even though this was the first time they had met, he felt very protective over her. He knew while she and Stefan were under his roof, no harm would come to Elena. He would make sure of it. However, first of all he needed to introduce himself.

Puffing his chest out to appear more confident, Damon walked over to her and bowed. "Good day dear sister. I hope I find you well." he said as Elena offered her hand for him to kiss.

"Thank you dear brother." Elena curtsied. "I am very well. And yourself?" she asked, her voice sounding a little nervous.

"I am much better now I have had the pleasure of finally meeting you." he replied with what felt like his first genuine smile since the death of Katherine.

All of a sudden there was the noise of a slamming door and approaching footsteps. Damon noticed Elena's hand tremble, just as he let it go, her reaction spoke more than words ever could. She was obviously terrified of her husband. Damon turned to look in the direction and Elena glanced up only to see Stefan in the doorway.

"Damon." Stefan greeted him angrily.

"Hello brother." Damon scowled back.

 **The main introductions are now over. Any further backstory will be explained as the story progresses.**

 **I would like to admit there is one aspect I may have gotten wrong with this story, but I can't find any references to help me. That is how long it would have taken to train to become a Methodist minister in 1864. I know it is approximately 8 years today, but I doubt it would have taken that long back then, therefore I am taking liberties with the story. I apologize if I am way out, but I figured 5 years would have been appropriate.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Finally we can start with the plot.**

 **I hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

The two brothers stared at each other, neither seeming to be inclined to greet each other formally. Elena noticed Damon had took an odd stance and was stood partially in front of her, as if he were shielding her from Stefan. Elena wasn't sure why, although from Stefan's mood, heed clearly been drinking. Maybe Damon knew his brother, or was just in the mood for a fight.

Stefan had warned Elena about Damon. From his description, Damon was moody, rash and couldn't be trusted. When he was younger he often rebelled against their father, frequented whore houses and was a heavy gambler. He'd also been known to get involved in the occasional fight, resulting in black eyes and busted lips. Therefore Elena was extremely wary of the man who was stood in front of her. At this point, Elena wasn't sure who scared her the most, Damon or Stefan.

"I see you've already met my wife." Stefan broke the silence, his voice cold and detached towards his brother.

"That I have dear brother." Damon replied. "Although I was surprised to find her...unattended." he grimaced. "I'd have thought you would have given her a guided tour." he said.

"I was waiting for you to do the honors." Stefan told him, a comment which clearly surprised Damon from the expression on his face.

"By all means I will give my new sister a guided tour." Damon eyed Stefan carefully before turning to Elena. "Do you like horses?" he asked.

"Of course." Elena swallowed, not daring to disagree. She didn't mind horses, but she wouldn't normally go out of her way to see them.

"Then I will take you on a tour of the stables." Damon grinned before turning towards Stefan. "I'll have have Isaac fetch what you want." he spat. "You can stay here if you wish." he added as Stefan simply shrugged. "I'll take it in the library. I need to catch up on my reading." he smirked and wandered off to the library.

Damon had decided it was for the best to allow Stefan to drink as long as Damon was around. He could hopefully contain the amount Stefan consumed if Damon made it clear he knew how much whiskey Stefan was being given. However Damon wasn't sure exactly how much Stefan was drinking, and this would give him an opportunity to find out. Plus it would allow him to get to know his sister-in-law a little better.

Damon escorted her out to the stables, where he noticed she was a little nervous. He couldn't tell whether it was he who made her nervous and uncomfortable, or maybe the visit to see the horses. His money was on his brother giving him a damning reputation. Therefore Damon decided to approach it in his usual fashion, which was confront the matter head on.

"You seem uncomfortable." Damon said as they neared the stables.

"Do I?" Elena replied nervously.

"Yes. Earlier when I greeted you, you were shaking." he frowned. "Is something troubling you?" he asked, much to Elena's surprise. Stefan had warned her Damon was often blunt, but she never expected him to be so obvious about it. Therefore her only option was to lie a little.

"I am a little nervous." she smiled shyly, hoping her lie would work. "I am so overwhelmed by all of this." she pointed to the house. "Your house is magnificent dear brother." she smiled.

"When we are alone you can call me Damon." Damon smiled.

"And you can call me Elena." Elena offered, although she wasn't quite feeling comfortable with such informality.

However it would be an insult to the head of the house not to follow his lead under such circumstances, and she wasn't sure how much time they would be spending together 'alone' as he put it. If it were up to her, she would prefer to be alone without either of the Salvatore brothers. Unfortunately for Elena, as she would be living with them both for the next few months, there was no avoiding spending time with them, she would just have to find a way of keeping herself occupied and maybe keep out of their way.

"So be honest with me." Damon broke Elena away from her thoughts. "Do you really like horses or are you just humoring me?" he asked with a small smile on his face.

"I like horses..." Elena started.

"But you've never really had much interaction with them." Damon guessed as Elena nodded. "Can you ride?" he asked.

"Of course." Elena frowned. "Only a little though." she admitted.

"I thought as much." Damon laughed. "You would have little cause to be riding a horse in a big city when you can have a carriage instead." he told her. "I enjoy riding because it makes me feel at one with my surroundings, although I doubt I'd feel that way if I lived in a city." he screwed up his face at the thought, which brought a genuine giggle to Elena's lips. "We have wonderful scenery, it is best explored on horseback." he told her. "Do you ride sidesaddle?" he asked.

"Yes." Elena nodded.

"I will get old Bill to come and fit a saddle for you." Damon assured her. "Now on to more serious business. Did you bring a handmaiden with you?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "I did not know I would have need of one." she replied.

"Don't worry, I thought you might say that." Damon smiled. "It appears my brother should have prepared you for your stay here." he said. "Over the course of the coming months, there will be parties you will be obliged to attend, and for that you will need the assistance of a handmaiden. Unfortunately Emily is not available as she is in charge of the maids. However her younger sister Bonnie is a girl of around your age. When I found out you were coming to stay, I decided to ensure she was full up to date on all of the newest fashions in clothes and hair." he continued.

"How?" Elena frowned.

"I ensured she was reading all of the most up to date Ladies Books." Damon shifted slightly.

"Reading, but she's..." Elena started.

"I do not wish to hear that word used in my house." Damon told her. "My staff are all well paid and well treat. I ensure they can all read and write, as it does come in useful at times. They can leave at any time they choose, however they all know how fortunate they are to work for me. They are the envy of the surrounding towns and villages. I am forever having to turn down men and women who wish to be in my employment. I believe happy, well fed and well treat workers are far more productive than those who do not wish to be employed." he smiled. "Bonnie is a very friendly girl and was extremely excited for me to appoint her as your handmaiden. Obviously, you can choose differently." he offered.

"No." Elena said, surprised by Damon's kind gesture. "I am overwhelmed by your generosity." she smiled.

"Good." Damon smiled. "Bonnie will go through what formal wear you were able to bring and see what else is needed. She is aware of all the town social events you we required to attend, and will ensure you are suitably outfitted." he told her.

"Why are you not telling Stefan all of this?" Elena asked. "Shouldn't this discussion be with my husband?"

Damon sighed. "Stefan is a man of the cloth. He does not believe in such...frivolity." he told her. "He sees no need for a woman to be seen in beautiful gowns, as you will always be beautiful in his eyes." he said, although he himself did not believe what he was telling her, but he had no choice but to lie. "Also unlike myself, my brother is not a man of great wealth. His paltry financial remuneration is unfit to pay for the gowns you will be required to wear for such events. I do not mind, it gives me great pleasure in looking after what little family I have left." he smiled.

Although Elena wasn't sure whether to believe Damon or not, as this did not seem to tie with the Damon Stefan had described to her, she decided to go along with his charitable offerings for now. For some reason, she had the strangest suspicion he had an underlying motive, but she could not for one instance put her finger on what it could be.

Damon didn't need to go to such lengths to ensure Elena was the height of fashion. It wasn't entirely expected she would be. However, although he could never touch her, it wouldn't harm for him to appreciate Elena's beauty in all its glory. He wouldn't notice the costs, not like he had anything to spend his money on these days. Katherine had had a monthly clothing allowance and the best dressmakers from the surrounding towns to keep up to date with the newest fashions. She would also order clothes when on her visits to Atlanta. Damon had realized it would be nice to feel the presence of a woman in the house once more, even if she were not his own wife. Maybe it would even help him reconsider his own marital status once they were gone. But for now, she was not just a guest, but the head female of the house and should be treated as such.

"Would you like me to introduce you to the horses?" Damon asked as they stepped inside the stables.

"Please." Elena smiled nervously.

"Don't worry, they don't bite." Damon assured her. "Well apart from him." he pointed out a magnificent looking black stallion. "But only if he suspects you are hiding apples and are not prepared to share with him." he teased.

"I'll do well to remember that." Elena muttered. "What is his name?" she asked.

"Onyx." Damon told her. "After the stone." he explained.

"Is he yours?" Elena asked curiously as the eyes of Onyx followed her.

"I wish." Damon sighed. "We've managed to break him in, but he's stubborn. I did consider selling him, but it's not an option." he told her.

"What do you mean?" Elena frowned.

"I bought him for me." Damon explained. "I saw him from a distance and decided he would be perfect for Katherine. She was an excellent horsewoman and loved to ride. The bigger and faster the horse, the better as far as she was concerned. The owner warned me I would need to take on his stablemate as they hated to be parted. At the time I thought he was trying to take extra money from me, but I agreed." he said. "Now admittedly, I am a firm believer in a horse chooses its owner and not the other way around, although I hoped this occasion would be different as he and Katherine hadn't met and he needed breaking in. When I got them back to the yard, I found out Katherine was pregnant, so she never even got to ride him. I would have taken him myself, but another horse stood in the way, she was called Matilda." Damon took Elena over to meet a smaller, dapple gray mare. It turned out Onyx stablemate was the horse I ended up bonding with. Love at first sight I guess you could say." he chuckled. "It also means I can't sell Onyx as Matilda would pine for him."

"You do that just to keep your horse happy?" Elena frowned.

"Of course." Damon replied, sounding surprised as if it wasn't the most obvious thing in the world. "Why wouldn't I?" he asked.

"It seems like a lot of trouble just for a horse." Elena said as Damon went up to Matilda and began to stroke her. In response the horse neighed and nudged him affectionately, causing Elena to laugh as it was clear they were close. "So what about Onyx?" Elena asked as she looked at the horse who had continued to stare at her.

"I've managed to ride him a couple of times." Damon told her. "But only if Matilda is with us. Otherwise he is a pain in the..." he stopped, realizing what he was about to say wasn't appropriate for Elena to hear. "He can be obnoxious." he corrected himself.

"Can I stroke him?" Elena asked, not knowing why she was being so bold about approaching an animal she was unfamiliar with.

"Sure, go ahead." Damon agreed. "Onyx, be good." he called out to the horse, who simply looked at Damon as if he were stupid.

Elena hesitantly walked over to the horse, who seemed oddly curious to see her. Damon was surprised by this behavior as Onyx never acted like this. He almost seemed gentle. This was the behavior he reserved for Matilda. Elena began to stroke him and he simply nudged her slightly, showing the same temperament as Damon would expect from Matilda.

Damon folded his arms in shock. "Well I'll be damned." he laughed. "Onyx likes you."

"I thought you said he doesn't bite." Elena frowned.

"He doesn't'." Damon nodded. "Doesn't mean he actually likes people. He simply tolerates us. You on the other hand, he likes." he smiled. "He's never been ridden side saddle before, but I'm sure he'd be patient enough to do it for you." he mused.

"Me, ride him." Elena looked at Damon wide eyed, before turning back to Onyx. "But he might not like it." she said.

"Elena, I've been around horses for a very long time." Damon told her. "When a horse chooses its owner, it is a special bond and the horse will work with you. He'll look after you." he assured her."When a horse and a human bond, it is like a marriage all humans wish to enjoy. But unfortunately impossible to attain." he said lowering his eyes.

Elena detected a note of sadness in his voice and the way he lowered his eyes suggested his own marriage may not have been perfect. She knew something had happened between Stefan and Katherine, and she was convinced it had continued after Damon had married her. Elena couldn't understand why Katherine would favor Stefan over Damon, as he seemed almost sweet by nature. However, from her own experience, appearances could be deceptive. Externally, her marriage to Stefan would appear as if they were the perfect couple and totally in love. Behind closed doors, he was a violent alcoholic. Maybe Damon had been the same towards Katherine, although his supposed treatment of his workers suggested otherwise.

Elena decided her best option would be to befriend Bonnie and find out more from her. She knew Bonnie wouldn't betray the trust of her employer, however Elena would need to pay close attention to the small things Bonnie would tell her. See if they would give her an indication of the type of man Stefan's brother was. She didn't know why she needed to know this exactly, maybe she needed someone she could trust if Stefan truly hurt her, and would not accuse her of lying. Damon was the closest she had to real family in Mystic Falls, therefore she needed to know if she could rely on him. Because, even though there was bad blood between him and Stefan, they were brothers and at the end of the day, they would die for each other. But that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to help her. Therefore, Elena decided to make it her task to discover if he would be of some assistance should she ever need it. However now was not the time. They needed to get to know each other a little more for that.

Damon continued to show Elena the rest of the horses before returning to the main house. After that Elena decided she was a little weary from her journey and wished to retire for a little while before taking a bath. Once she'd left to go to her room, Damon entered the study to get some work done, only to see the sneering face of Stefan. Damon closed the door behind him as he knew there was some argument coming, although what for, he didn't know.

"So you think you can charm my wife?" Stefan sneered, his words slightly slurred from the alcohol.

"I was simply showing her the horses, something dear brother I would have already expected you to have done." Damon replied. "And it appears my most wayward horse, Onyx has taken a shine to her."

"Is that the one you bought for Katherine?" Stefan asked.

"It is." Damon replied, not surprised by Stefan's knowledge of the horse as he and Katherine had been writing to each other at the time. "How did you know?" Damon asked innocently. "Did Katherine tell you in one of her letter?" he spat.

"Something like that." Stefan smirked. "But, just because Katherine and I were still writing to each other, doesn't mean you can worm your way into the affections of my wife." he threatened.

"I'm just being a gracious host." Damon held his hands up in mock surrender. "Nothing more. Surely you don't want her hidden away in her bedroom all day. If she's going to be living in Mystic Falls, she's going to need to learn how to live here. And being able to ride a horse is a useful skill. Especially for a ministers wife. As you know, Eliza Young is an exemplary rider, and the same expectations will also be placed upon Elena's shoulders. As a member of your flock, by helping Elena, I in turn am helping you. I doubt you will have the time to show her how to ride, what with your duties to the church." he added.

"Is there anything else I should know brother?" Stefan asked angrily.

"I have arranged for her to have a handmaiden." Damon told Stefan. "There are a number of up and coming events which you will both be expected to attend, both in the capacity of a founding family member, and in the role of the new Pastor. A fact I'm sure you are aware of." he said as Stefan slowly nodded, his face slowly growing redder by the minute, a sign to Damon that his brother was about to explode with anger. However, taunting Stefan was too much of a temptation, and Damon just couldn't help himself, therefore he continued with his little speech. "I have instructed Bonnie to go through Elena's wardrobe to ensure she has the appropriate attire for the events." he continued. "As a Salvatore, she will still be expected to be impeccably turned out, therefore should she require new gowns, I will purchase them for her." he said as his brother finally lost it.

Stefan grabbed hold of Damon's collar and pushed him up against the wall. He then thumped Damon squarely on the jaw and in the stomach. Damon growled and pushed Stefan off him, who then fell to the floor. Damon grabbed him and pulled him up by the collar and looked at his brother with disgust.

"Don't you ever...dare lay a hand on me again in my house!" Damon growled. "Otherwise you will find yourself out on the streets, sleeping with the rats."

"Oh that won't look good, throwing your respectable younger brother out on the streets." Stefan smirked. "The ever popular little brother, who became the local Pastor. But then again, this coming from a man who prefers the company of whores to getting himself a respectable wife, shouldn't be of much surprise." he said viciously. "Or do the women in town who are available, only want you for their money. We all know that's the only reason Katherine married you. Not because she loved you, because she was in love with me." he smirked, clearly knowing he was pushing Damon too far, however he wanted a bruise on his face, just to prove to Elena she couldn't trust Damon. "She told me you were boring and had no sense of fun. And her biggest regret in life was marrying you." he spat. "But then again, if father had fell down the stairs a few weeks later, she wouldn't have been marrying you would she? Convenient you were nowhere to be found at the time of his death."

Damon took a deep breath. He knew what his brother was trying to do, and the only way he could respond was to not stoop to Stefan's, level, regardless of how low it was. Therefore Damon stood up straight and looked at Stefan with contempt.

"I was attending to one of my personal businesses." Damon said.

"So you said at the time. Doesn't mean someone else didn't do it for you." Stefan said in an accusatory tone.

"You know I'd have been quite happy for you to inherit the family business." Damon scowled. "I had my own private investments." he said.

"Yes, but you wanted Katherine." Stefan smiled evilly. "And the only way you could have her was if you inherited the business." he shrugged. "But it's too late. Unless you want to confess your sins dear brother, we'll find out who enters heaven and who doesn't."

"Okay Stefan, you've had your fun." Damon sighed. "I want you to leave. I have a lot of work to do right now, and I can't do it while you are here." he said.

"Fine." Stefan nodded. "But Elena will not be having a handmaiden." Stefan told him.

"Too late. It has already been arranged." Damon smiled. "Bonnie starts tomorrow. I have already notified Elena, who is excited to have a handmaiden." he smirked.

Stefan thought for a moment. "You have it your way." he said. "But it isn't becoming for anyone to see a Pastor's wife in a state of undress. Bonnie will be allowed to do her hair and put her gowns on. I will do up her corsets myself. And any measuring for gowns will also fall to me." he demanded.

Deciding this was a step in the right direction, Damon opted to meet his brother halfway as he understood his brothers predicament.

"I agree to those conditions." he nodded.

"And nobody is allowed to help her when she is bathing. Only me." Stefan insisted.

Damon nodded once more. "Again, I will tell Bonnie those are your wishes." he said. "Her dignity will remain in tact for the sake of god." he said.

"Good!" Stefan said before leaving the study and slamming the door behind him.

Damon walked over to the wet bar and with a shaking hand, poured himself a glass of whiskey from the now almost empty decanter, courtesy of his brother. "Not hitting him is going to be harder than I thought." he muttered to himself as he finished the glass off in one gulp.

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They are always appreciated.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Just to re-iterate, this is a 100% Delena love story. It is just a little darker than my usual stuff.**

 **Also, Stefan is not really a religious man (although I suspect that is pretty obvious). He joined the clergy for other reasons, which will be revealed.**

 **Warning, some might find this chapter a little upsetting in parts.**

Elena had just woken and was still in her night dress. She was just about to call on the bell for her bath to be filled when she heard footsteps striding towards the door. She recognized the sound of those steps anywhere, they were Stefan's, and for some reason he was on his way to the bedroom, which considering the time of day, was probably not a good one. Stefan calmly opened the bedroom door and closed it behind him, turning the key to lock it. Elena always knew it was a bad sign when he did that. He was drunk and clearly angry for some reason, although she wasn't aware of doing anything wrong, other than visiting the stables with Damon. Surely he wasn't angry with her for exploring the house.

"Explain yourself." Stefan said in the voice Elena feared the most. This was the calm before the storm, and there were only one of two possible scenarios for the outcome of this discussion, neither of them she wanted to endure.

"I..I'm not sure what you mean." she trembled.

"You went to the stables with my brother." Stefan growled. "Got up to god knows what, behaving like a slut who has no shame, flirting around my brother." he said quietly.

"I...I..." Elena started, but Stefan put his fingers to his lips to indicate she keep her voice down. "I swear, I didn't do anything." she whispered. "I saw the horses, that is all." she protested.

"You hate horses." Stefan spat.

"I don't mind them." Elena shook her head. "I just never had need to ride in Chicago." she pleaded, knowing the look of madness in Stefan's eyes only spelled trouble.

"Then you agreed to a handmaiden and accepting Damon's offer of clothes." Stefan sneered, as he saw Elena's corset on a chair and picked it up. "He's just buying you, like he buys everyone. Even Katherine only married him for his money." he smirked as he inched towards her. "You know what would happen if you had a handmaiden?" he asked. Elena shook her head. "A handmaiden has to dress you." he replied. "What do you think she would find if she saw you in a state of undress?" he asked as Elena suddenly realized the faux pas.

"She'd see my flesh and the discolorations." Elena lowered her eyes.

"And why can't she see them?" Stefan inched up to her face.

"Because she'd know I'm a sinner and not worthy to be your wife." Elena whimpered. "She'd know I've done wicked things?" she lowered her head, not daring to look at Stefan.

"What wicked things were they?" Stefan asked.

"Disrespecting my husband by visiting the stables alone with his brother." Elena began to shrink into herself. "People would get the wrong impression and suspect my thoughts to be impure." she closed her eyes.

"You know what happens to impure women?" Stefan growled in her ear.

"Well they have no use for handmaidens." he replied, which startled Elena. She was expecting to feel his fist. Instead he spun her around and wrapped the corset around her, tying the laces. "I can help dress and undress you." he said, momentarily pulling her corset strings so tight she couldn't breathe. He however must have had a change of heart as he stopped putting the corset on, and instead he began to untie the laces. "However, I am feeling generous of spirit, and you will be allowed a handmaiden to help with your hair and outer garments." he said as he ripped the corset back off and spun her back around to face him. His eyes were blazing with anger, and Elena knew he was going to hurt her.

Stefan picked Elena up and threw her on the bed, far enough back, she hit her head on the wooden headboard. He then pulled her ankles towards him and lifted the hem of her nightdress. Knowing what was to come, Elena closed her eyes and froze, hoping it would be over sooner rather than later.

Damon sat down behind his desk, put his head in his hands and sighed with relief. He knew he couldn't let Stefan goad him like that, because that way Damon would end up looking like the bad guy. Regardless of how respectable he was these days, his past influenced the beliefs of others, and Stefan was always the popular bookish brother who could do no wrong. On the other hand, Damon was the rascal who got into drunken fights and spent his time at the whore house. If both brothers had come out with bruises, nobody would have questioned who would have started it, the answer would always be Damon.

Deciding to keep his mind off things, he opted to go through his mail. As he owned a plantation and logging mills, he amassed a great deal of daily correspondence, which he always tried to put off until he had nothing else left to do of the day's duties. However today it was exactly what he needed to keep his mind off the argument he had just had with. Damon absently wondered where his brother had disappeared to, but put it to the back of his mind, deciding it was none of his business, and instead took the letter opener and began to go through his mail.

A few moments later Damon thought he heard a bang coming from above. He frowned for a moment, but everything went silent once more, he shook his head and continued with his chores. A few moments later he heard a creaking sound from above. Damon didn't need to be a genius to understand what that noise was about. The master suite was directly above the study and both Damon and Stefan knew any noise made in that room could be heard through the floorboards. Damon shook his head, his brother had tried to get a rise out of him by itching for a fight, now Stefan was trying to goad him by noisily making love to his wife during the day to distract Damon while he was trying to work as it was certainly not the proper thing to do in the afternoon.

Deciding he was going to be too distracted by the creaking sound of the bed upstairs, he left the study and headed towards the stables. Damon needed to clear his head and the only way to do that was to jump on the back of Matilda and go for a ride. While Matilda was being tacked up, Damon noticed Onyx looking at him. He suspected the horse was wanting to see Elena again, but it would probably be a while before Stefan let her anywhere near the stables again.

"She likes you." Damon told the horse. "Her husband just doesn't like that she likes you." he shrugged.

"All done Sir." Samuel the groom told him as Damon took Matilda's reins. Damon hated the staff calling him Master, although old habits died hard and some of them struggled or refused to change. He wasn't their Master he was their employer. The younger staff, like Samuel, who had only worked for the Salvatore stables for the last three years called him Sir.

Knowing there was only an hour left until sundown, when he would need to be return to change for supper, he mounted Matilda's back and took off to clear his head. He needed to do some thinking. The feeling of protectiveness towards Elena was something he never expected to experience ever again. It was like how he'd initially felt about Katherine, and how he'd known he'd do anything for her. However this was his sister-in-law. He was not allowed to have those feelings for her. Damon did consider whether the feelings for Elena were actually real, or just to spite Stefan. He wondered if this was how it had appeared to his little brother, and maybe instead of taking care of Stefan's wife, he should be setting about repairing his broken relationship with his brother. As he continued to ride, he had an idea which might work. For the remainder of his time out in the open, he continued to formulate a plan of how to make amends with his brother.

Later that evening, after Damon had returned from his ride, supper was served. As Damon was head of the family, he was sat at one end of the table, with Stefan to his right and Elena to his left. They'd finished their soup in an awkward silence before Damon decided to broach the subject of his idea to start to repair his relationship with his brother, as he and Elena were all of the family he had.

"So brother." Damon started. "I was wondering, would you like for me to host a party in celebration of your return to Mystic Falls." he offered. "Just a small one with your close friends from before you left?" he asked.

"Why?" Stefan asked.

"Oh well, you know, to catch up and find out how their lives are going." Damon said. "It might help with your job at the church." he suggested.

"Hmm, maybe." Stefan shrugged.

"Nothing too formal." Damon offered. "Unless that is what you would prefer. Entirely your choice." he smiled.

"I'll take it into consideration brother." Stefan replied, and went back to eating his meal.

Damon realized this was going to be harder than he expected. He took a deep breath for his next suggestion, as it might seem more controversial to Stefan.

"I was wondering if you would like Eliza Young to meet Elena." Damon said. "I appreciate Elena has already the experience of being a ministers wife, but it wouldn't hurt to know what is expected of her in a small town like Mystic Falls. One would expect things to be a little different in a small town to a big city like Chicago." he smiled.

"I had already considered that." Stefan replied in such a manner which suggested Stefan hadn't but didn't want Damon to get the credit for coming up with it. On his part, Damon decided not to repeat his suspicions, he was trying to repair their relationship, and if it meant biting his tongue when Stefan came out with lies such as that, he would keep quiet, just for the sake of peace.

"I was also wondering if you would like me to show you the site of the house." Damon offered. "I've got the basic foundations started, but the plans are subject to alteration at your discretion brother." he told him. "Money is no object, especially when it comes to providing for a man of god, and potentially for the heir to the Salvatore businesses." he said.

"True." Stefan agreed, finally seeming a little more appeased. "Although the property cannot appear too grand, it would send out the wrong message to the parishioners." he said.

"It is entirely your choice." Damon agreed.

All throughout the entire conversation, Damon had deliberately not addressed Elena on these matters. These were discussions for the men, even though Damon himself would have like input from Elena as she would have some valuable opinions as to the needs of their family. However, Damon was beginning to realize Stefan did not want Elena's opinion, he was head of his house and all decisions were his. Therefore, for the time being, Damon would have to work with that, and maybe over time Stefan would be a little more gracious and allow Elena some input into their future.

They continued their meal in peace, with the occasional minor comments regarding the quality of the food. Elena remained absolutely silent, her eyes cast down through every course. She barely touched the food which was presented to her, although it wasn't uncommon in those days as women ate very little to ensure they still looked beautiful and could fit into their gowns.

Once the meal was finished, it was time to retire to the parlor. Damon offered Stefan a glass of whiskey, which he readily accepted, and Elena drank a glass of water, as would be expected from the wife of a Methodist minister. Again the air was awkward, therefor Damon decided to involve Elena into the conversation a little more.

"Do you play any musical instruments?" he asked.

"The piano." Elena smiled shyly.

"Would you..." Damon started as was going to suggest she play the piano, however Stefan interrupted him.

"No she wouldn't." he snapped. "She's not very good, are you dear." he smiled a fake smile.

Elena sighed"Unfortunately not." she lied, pretending not to be offended. "My music teacher practically gave up on me, therefore I rarely play anymore, and most definitely not in front of anyone else." she lowered her eyes, knowing perfectly well she was an excellent pianist, as did Stefan.

"Stefan." Damon turned to his brother. "Do you still play?" he asked.

"A little." he shrugged. "When the mood takes me." he added.

"Do you mind if I retire early tonight?" Elena suddenly asked. "I am still weary from the journey. I am afraid it took its toll a little." she said.

"By all means." Damon replied as he looked at Stefan.

"I'll be there shortly." Stefan agreed.

"Goodnight husband, brother." Elena nodded to them both.

"Goodnight sister." Damon replied.

"Goodnight." Stefan nodded as Elena curtsied before leaving the room and retiring for the evening.

Once she'd been gone a few minutes Damon turned to Stefan. "Elena was very quiet tonight." he said.

"Like she said, she was tired." Stefan replied. "And I reminded her not to speak until she is spoken to." he added.

"Isn't that a little harsh brother?" Damon frowned.

"She's my wife not yours." Stefan stood up and poured himself another drink. "I will deal with her as I see fit." he said, drinking the glass of whiskey straight down.

"And that is your prerogative brother." Damon agreed. "However, as the head of the house, I do prefer a little more conversation. Maybe even laughter. Surely as a man of the church, you understand laughter is good for the soul." he offered.

"No." Stefan disagreed. "Atonement and paying for your sins is good for the soul. Then all you can do is hope god will forgive you." he added.

Damon turned around and rolled his eyes. He knew he was fighting a losing battle, therefore discussing the whiskey issue tonight was not going to be a wise idea as Stefan might get angry once more. Therefore he tried a change in tactic.

"So what are your plans for tomorrow?" Damon asked, turning to face his brother once more.

"I am to visit the new Fell's Church." Stefan replied. "I haven't seen it as the old one was burned to the ground the night before father died, remember." he said.

"I do." Damon nodded. "They did a wonderful job in building a new one. I'm sure you will like what they have done. It is larger than the original." he told him.

"Well let's hope nobody dies in this one." Stefan smiled a fake smile.

"Here's to the new church and its new minister." Damon smiled and raised his glass of whiskey. "To Mr and Mrs Stefan Salvatore." he said. "May Pastor Salvatore bring much peace and godly spirit to Mystic Falls." he added.

Stefan smiled the first genuine smile all day and nodded. "Thank you brother." he said, tipping his glass of whiskey back and finishing the contents.

Elena quickly returned to her bedroom. She'd enlisted Emily to help with her corset strings, although she wouldn't be able to do anything else. Stefan had agreed to the concession, just in case she needed to rest and he wasn't around at the time. Once undressed, Elena climbed into bed and closed her eyes, determined to ensure Stefan believed her to be asleep when he came to bed.

She reflected on the day since they'd arrived. Damon had been perfectly polite and wonderful with her, showing her the horses. However after she went to bed, something had clearly happened between the two brothers. Stefan had been angry and had forced himself upon her to try and keep the Salvatore line intact, as he would put it. When she wasn't responsive, he'd slapped her face. Elena had to ensure she didn't shed a tear, no matter how much it stung. She was used to it, Stefan slapped her so it wouldn't leave a mark. Elena suspected this might become is preferred method if Damon started to become suspicious anything bad was going on, unless Damon was like that himself, which was something she would never be able to truly judge.

The oddest part of the day had been the evening meal. Damon had completely ignored her, which had upset her more than she cared to admit. Elena had no idea why, but even though she barely knew Damon, she felt safe around him. Of course, once upon a time she'd felt completely safe around Stefan, but that was before they were married, and Elena had been young and naive. Now she knew the true nature of men, she was much more wary. This was why she hadn't understood Damon's cold behavior at supper.

Damon had tried to make conversation after their meal, but Stefan didn't seem to want to let Damon talk to her. Maybe that was what their ob argument had been about earlier, although she did note they did seem far more cordial at supper. Elena just hoped it was because Damon was trying to repair his relationship with Stefan and the slightly chilly shoulder she experienced from him would soon pass.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized she didn't want Damon to ignore her, and it had really hurt when he did. He was making her feel things she'd never experienced before, one in particular completely confused her. His presence made her feel warm between her legs. She had no idea what that meant as the only point of that area was to have babies and endure whatever punishment Stefan was giving her at the time. That thought alone made her chest tighten and a lump rose up in her throat. Elena couldn't understand why she was all of a sudden feeling so emotional. Tears began to stream down her face, as she buried her head in her pillow and began to sob.

Moments later Elena felt a cramp in her stomach, she knew exactly what this meant. She was going to bleed, probably the next day as this was the usual sign. The meant Stefan would beat her tomorrow when it arrived. Fortunately he wouldn't force himself on her, he didn't like it when she bled. Suddenly she heard footsteps stopping outside the door. Elena immediately stopped her sobbing and pretended to be asleep. She feared what would happen if she didn't.

Damon decided to retire early. After their conversation Stefan had taken to the library to read and drink. Damon didn't feel like doing either, instead he was mentally exhausted after the day with Stefan. He had at least another three months of this nightmare to endure, and to be honest, only the knowledge of Stefan being out and at church all day, kept him sane.

As he walked past the master suite, he heard a noise. The sounds of sobbing came from the other side, clearly from Elena. He wondered what could possibly have upset her so much to have in such an emotional state. Damon's first instinct was it had something to do with Stefan. Then it occurred to Damon that Elena had left her entire family behind in Chicago and could quite easily be homesick, which would explain her desperate need to get away early. Wishing there was more he could do to help, Damon turned and headed to his own room, in the hope of getting a good night's sleep, as tomorrow would be a whole new day.

 **Thank you for your reviews. They are very much appreciated and let me know how people feel about this story as I am out of my comfort zone.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me and keep me inspired to continue with the story and post more regular updates.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **This chapter is lot less depressing than the previous one. Not quite rainbows and unicorns, but there is hope, and a few more revelations.**

 **I hope you enjoy it.**

Elena woke to find Stefan still asleep. He had fallen for her pretending to sleep last night and he gone to bed quietly. Within minutes he'd been sound asleep, snoring softly. This was her favorite version of Stefan. When he was fast asleep he didn't hurt her, insult her or make her feel scared. Not that she always felt that way about him, sometimes he could still be sweet and gentle towards her. But sleep was the only time she was guaranteed he wouldn't suddenly turn nasty. She got up and tiptoed towards the bathroom to use the chamber pot, when she heard movement behind her.

"No need to creep around like the dead Elena." Stefan whispered, stopping Elena in her tracks. "I'm already awake. I have to work today." he said.

"I wasn't sure what time you wanted waking, and I didn't want to disturb you." Elena smiled as sweetly as possible. Stefan was usually at his nicest when he woke as he hadn't started to drink.

"I am eager to see what the new church looks like." Stefan sat up, smiling back at her, looking like the man she fell in love with.

"I'll only be a minute." Elena told him as she went into the bathroom.

Her stomach cramps were getting worse and she had no idea how to ease them. Normally, without Stefan's knowledge, she would have asked her father for some laudanum. However that wasn't an option. If she needed laudanum, she would need to see the town doctor and she wasn't sure if he would want to make sure she was physically fine. Stefan would never allow that, so for the time being she was going to have to cope. Fortunately she hadn't started to bleed yet, meaning Stefan wouldn't hurt her for now.

When Elena returned from the bathroom freshened up, Stefan helped her with her corset as it was the one garment she couldn't do up herself, and would reveal the bruises on her body which Stefan had inflicted. Even though Stefan was in a relatively good mood, he still tied her corset too tight, which was only making her cramps feel worse. By this point she was almost in tears, but she managed to keep her composure throughout. After helping Elena with her clothes, Stefan washed and dressed himself. He was back in his usual clerical outfit to identify him as the new minister. Elena managed to do the best she could with her hair before they left the room for breakfast.

Damon was waiting for them in the parlor, reading the local newspaper, Mystic Falls News. As soon as they arrived he put the newspaper down and smiled.

"Well good morning to you both. I hope you slept well." Damon said.

"Like a baby." Stefan smiled back.

"I slept very well brother." Elena replied.

"Good, I'm starving." Damon stood up and clapped his hands. "Breakfast is ready to be served in the dining room." he told them as they followed him there.

They assumed the same seating arrangement as per the previous evening and waited for their breakfast to be served. They ate and drank, initially in silence, until Damon opted to speak.

"Are you looking forward to seeing the new church brother?" Damon asked.

"I am." Stefan nodded.

"A word of warning." Damon said. "Every morning, old Mrs Maxwell always used to greet Pastor Young on the steps of the church, so do not be surprised to see her there waiting for you. She would bring him fresh bread every morning to make sure he was properly fed. She said Eliza didn't feed him properly." he smiled. "Although I think it was just and excuse, and instead she had a soft spot for Pastor Young." he winked at Elena, who blushed. When she realized, she lowered her head, hoping neither Stefan nor Damon had caught her.

"Thank you for the warning brother." Stefan frowned. "What did Pastor Young do with the bread?" he asked.

"He gave to the children at Sunday school." Damon told him. "Many of those who go are poor and the families can barely feed them. So Pastor Young would make sure they would get at least one hearty meal per week." he said. "But I'm sure the Dan Baker will go through all of this with you."

"Dan the warder?" Stefan asked.

"That's the one." Damon nodded before turning to Elena. "And Bonnie will be coming to see you after breakfast." he told her. "She will go through her duties as your handmaiden." he smiled.

"Am I allowed any say over this?" Stefan frowned.

"Of course brother." Damon smiled. "Elena and Bonnie will go through the main list, and if there is anything on there you wish to add or remove, we can arrange it. But adding duties might be more difficult than removing them, so it is best to make the list as large as possible in the beginning." he said.

"Thank you brother." Elena smiled. "I am looking forward to meeting her." she said.

Stefan cleared his face with his napkin and placed it on the table. "Well I hope you don't mind, but I need to be excused." he said. "The church won't run itself."

"Go ahead brother." Damon smiled. "You have a good day." he said

"Elena." Stefan nodded at his wife.

"Husband." Elena nodded back. "I hope you have a wonderful day." she smiled.

With that Stefan left the room. Elena expected him to leave immediately, however he headed straight towards the parlor, and stayed there for a minute before leaving for work. It was only then Elena realized what he was doing. Stefan had a hip flask to put his whiskey in. Elena suspected he would secretly drink it over the day, not taking enough at any given time for the smell to be noticeable, but just enough to keep him from being entirely sober. Elena sighed, she'd hoped things would change when they arrived at Mystic Falls, but it appeared everything would stay the same. In fact with the large availability of whiskey, he would, in all likelihood get worse.

"Are you well Elena?" Damon frowned. "You've barely touched your food." he said.

"I am very well Damon." Elena lied. She was starving, but her stomach was bloated, she could barely breathe as her corset was too tight and the pains in her stomach were getting worse by the minute. "I don't always eat a lot in a morning." she told him. "And I am anxious to meet Bonnie." she said, which was the truth. Elena was going to need Bonnie's help sooner rather than later with her monthly bleed.

"I will call her now if you wish." Damon offered.

"That would be wonderful." Elena smiled.

Damon rang a little bell and one of the servants entered the room. "Isaac, would you please send Bonnie Bennett to me right away." he requested.

Isaac simply nodded and left. A few minutes later a small friendly looking girl, carrying some books, entered the room.

"Bonnie, this is Mrs Salvatore, Elena this is Bonnie." he introduced them.

"Pleased to meet you Mrs Salvatore." Bonnie had a huge smile on her face as she curtsied.

"And I am pleased to meet you too." Elena replied courteously.

"Well ladies." Damon stood up. "I hope you don't mind, but I have matters to attend to. The plantation and mills will not run themselves." he smiled.

"Of course brother." Elena smiled, switching to a more formal address in front of Bonnie.

Once Damon had left, Elena got up and looked around to see if anyone else was in the vicinity.

"Would you like us to go to your room?" Bonnie asked. "I can start by going through what I have learned from the ladies books." she said.

"I think that is a wonderful idea." Elena smiled as she led Bonnie upstairs to hers and Stefan's room.

For some reason she felt an instant draw to the girl. Bonnie appeared to be around the same age as Elena, and was clearly bright. She was very pretty with long black curly hair and green eyes, which stood out. Her frame was tiny and Elena suspected she was probably a good four inches shorter than Elena. Bonnie wore a green and white striped dress, like the other women in the house she'd seen, expect other than Emily, who wore black and white, the others had blue stripes. Wondering what it meant Elena decided to ask.

"Is there a reason for the women wearing different colors?" she asked.

"Yes." Bonnie nodded. "We have a ranking system which determines what our status is and how much we get paid." she explained. "Emily is the highest ranking female, which is why she wears black and white. Myself and the cook are the next tier down. We both wear green. Then there are the maids, they wear blue and the scullery maids wear red." she continued. "Those in higher ranks like me, have to be given respect by those lower than me. The men have the same ranking but the different colors are noted by the waistcoat they wear." she told her.

"Can you rise up in the ranks?" Elena asked.

"I started out as a scullery maid." Bonnie nodded. "We all do. Over time if we work hard and keep good with Master Damon, then we can rise up when there is a position available. But that rarely happens." she shrugged. "Nobody wants to leave, because Master Damon is so good to us." she said.

"That's good to know." Elena smiled. "At least I'll know who I need to address if I want something." she said.

"Master Damon wants me to look after your needs." Bonnie told her. "Should we get started?" she asked.

"About that." Elena winced. "I might need a bit of help sooner rather than later." she frowned. "You see..." Elena started, not knowing what to say.

"Do you need some rags Mrs Salvatore?" Bonnie asked.

"How did you guess?" Elena frowned.

"You seemed embarrassed, and I could think of only one thing which would cause that." Bonnie replied. "Do you have some discomfort?" she asked.

"A lot." Elena sighed.

"Don't worry Mrs Salvatore." Bonnie smiled. "I can get you a special tea for you to take. It works a real treat." she smiled.

"I usually use laudanum." Elena admitted. "My father is a doctor and he gives it to me."

"We use natural herbs." Bonnie told her. "Not that dangerous stuff." she shuddered.

"Why would you consider it dangerous?" Elena frowned in confusion. Surely her father wouldn't give her something which would harm her.

"One of the soldiers called Arthur came back from the war, injured real bad." Bonnie explained. "The doctor gave him laudanum for the pain. He took it every day, and eventually he couldn't live without it. If he didn't take it, it made him crazy mad." she said, lowering her voice. "Anyway, Arthur got so desperate for the laudanum, he broke into the doctors house and stole some. He took too much and died the next day." she said.

"All medicines are poisonous if you take too much." Elena said.

"But he didn't take that much. He only took a couple of drops too many and it killed him." Bonnie's eyes opened wide. "Master Damon has been reluctant to let anyone in the household use it since. Instead he relies on my Grams herbal remedies for easing pain." she said. "Don't tell anyone..." she whispered. "But I think Master Damon blames himself for not insisting Grams try her herbs on Mistress Katherine when she got sick." she told her. "Mistress Katherine wouldn't let Grams anywhere near her with the herbs, and Master Damon let her use the local doc instead. Anyway she died and Master Damon blamed himself for not standing up to her." she said.

"What does your Grams use?" Elena frowned.

"The best ones are Valerian root and evening primrose." Bonnie told her. "But you need to start the evening primrose a few days before and then take it all the time. But Valerian root will ease the pain. But it can make you a little sleepy, so no wine." she smiled. "Before we get down to the jobs you want me to do, I think helping you feel better is one we can start with straight away." she smiled.

"Okay." Elena agreed, curious as to whether this would work as well as laudanum.

"I'll be right back." Bonnie said brightly as she left the room to go get Elena's rags and medicine.

While Elena waited for Bonnie, she began to flip through the latest copy of Godey's Ladies Book, which her new handmaiden had brought. They were full of tips for hair and clothes. Short musical scores, hints and tips for the life of the modern woman and a few short stories. She smiled to herself, Stefan would never allow her such frivolity to read anything like this herself. However Damon had deemed it a necessity. Elena wondered if Damon had allowed Katherine to read these type of books as she sounded like the type to indulge in such reading.

Fifteen minutes after she left, Bonnie returned with a small pouch and a cup filled with what looked like steaming hot tea. Elena looked at in in confusion, she hadn't asked for tea. However Bonnie explained before Elena got the chance to ask.

"We make tea with it Mrs Salvatore." she told her. "It's the easiest way to take it." she said.

"Please, in private call me Elena." Elena smiled. "I'd prefer it if we were friends and I prefer my friends to call me by my given name, not my married name." she said.

"If that is what you prefer Elena." Bonnie smiled. "Here." she offered Elena the pouch. "There should be enough rags for the day. I will personally collect them for you if you put them in here and bring you fresh ones every day." she offered.

"Thank you Bonnie." Elena smiled. "That will be most helpful."

"I'd drink your tea real quick Elena." Bonnie told her. "I added a little cold water so you could drink it sooner and get rid of those cramps." she said. "Grams is getting some evening primrose for you, so hopefully you won't have this so bad next month." she said.

"How do you know so much?" Elena asked.

"Grams is the one who looks after the roots and herbs to make the workers better." Bonnie explained. "When Master Damon found out, he decided to pay her to look after the sick workers as they didn't trust the town doctor. Nobody likes the purging." she shook. "Our way works just as well without having to make people bleed and..." she stopped and grimaced.

"It's okay." Elena smiled. "I know exactly what you mean. It isn't very nice." she smiled. "But the doctors say it works." she added.

"My Grams remedies have worked for generations. I'll stick to what I know." Bonnie nodded. "Master Damon also favors Grams over the town doctor. She's more discreet." Bonnie smiled.

"Discreet?" Elena asked.

"If anyone sees Doctor Fell, the entire town knows about it." Bonnie told her. "But not everyone wants to know they're sick. Ask Grams to help and nobody knows anything about it." she said.

Elena thought about it. Bonnie was right, in a small town like Mystic Falls, gossip was probably rife and even a visit from a doctor would cause tongues to wag. She shuddered at the thought. A few times Elena had needed to see a doctor for her injuries Stefan had caused her. She always told her father she had tripped or fallen to hurt herself in such a manner, although Stefan never knew about her being treated for them. It had been a concern of Elena's before she moved to Mystic Falls regarding what would happen if she needed the town physician. If Bonnie's Grams remedies turned out to work, it would be one less problem to worry about. She then had an idea. The only way she could think that might stop Stefan from beating her and forcing himself on her, would be if she were to get pregnant.

"Does your Grams have anything to help with having babies?" Elena asked.

"I don't know." Bonnie shrugged. "I never had a problem. Got in the family way almost straight away with Enzo." she giggled. "How long have you and Mr Salvatore been tryin' for a little one?" she asked.

"Two years." Elena looked downcast. "He thinks I might be barren." she said. "But we need to have a baby just in case Damon never marries again."

"She'd have to be someone special to catch Master Damon's eye." Bonnie nodded. "Mistress Katherine hurt him real bad." she shook her head thoughtfully.

"Why?" Elena asked, wanting to know how much Damon was aware of regarding what had been happening between Katherine and Stefan.

"It's not my place to say." Bonnie lowered her eyes, realizing she'd said too much, after all, this was about Stefan who was Elena's husband.

Elena decided to put Bonnie at ease by letting on she knew something about her husband and Katherine. "Is this about what happened between Stefan and Katherine?" she asked.

Bonnie looked at Elena in fear and put her finger to her lips. "Nobody is supposed to know." Bonnie told her. "But Emily was Mistress Katherine's handmaiden before she died, and had to attend some of her visits to Atlanta with her."

"Visits to Atlanta?" Elena frowned.

Bonnie nodded. "Every month, Mistress Katherine would supposedly go visit her family in Atlanta. But her family weren't the only ones she were visiting." she nodded. "In fact she rarely even went to Atlanta."

"Where did she go?" Elena asked.

"Louisville in Kentucky." Bonnie told her.

Elena suddenly felt sick. Before they were married, Stefan used to go away for a week every other month to do missionary work in Kentucky. When she saw Stefan's letters to Katherine, they'd been fairly old and before they met. But clearly an affair had continued all the while Katherine was married to Damon and while Elena was engaged to Stefan. Elena sat on the bed trying to catch her breath.

"What was she doing in Louisville?" Elena asked.

"We don't know for sure." Bonnie lied, deciding to omit some of the truth about what she knew. "Emily suspected she was seeing a gentleman friend." she said.

"Does Master Damon know?" Elena asked.

"We know he found some letters after she died." Bonnie told her. "He was absolutely devastated when he saw them. He burned them, so nobody knows exactly what they said or who they were from, but I don't think it was good." she said. "Poor Master Damon." Bonnie continued. "He loved her dearly. Treat her like a queen, and I know I shouldn't speak ill of the dead, but Mistress Katherine was a nasty woman. She used to whip the servants with her riding crop. We weren't allowed to tell Master Damon otherwise she'd find other ways to punish us." she said.

"Oh my." Elena's eyes widened. "And Damon never knew anything about this?" she asked as Bonnie shook her head.

"Mistress Katherine fooled him. Pretending to be the perfect lady and all. But we know she only married him for his money and status, she never loved him." Bonnie's face dropped. "But she was foolish. Master Damon is a wonderful man. He didn't deserve a horrible woman like her." she looked Elena up and down. "And she didn't deserve a good and kind man like him." she whispered.

This comment reassured Elena. For some reason she felt safe in Damon's presence, and she wondered if it had been because of his gentle nature. Elena knew she needed to get to know Damon better, even if it meant risking the odd beating from Stefan as being around the elder Salvatore may save others. Another idea suddenly popped into her head, but Elena pushed it to one side. Only if her life became unbearable and desperate would she resort to such measures and asking such a huge favor from Damon. But if it came to it, she would as it was in his interests too. Therefore, getting to know Damon was going to be top of her to do list.

"Well Bonnie." Elena sighed. "Thank you for letting me know what subjects to avoid when talking to my brother." she said. "I think we should now move on to the list of jobs I would expect of you." she said as they both sat down on the couch near the window and Elena began to drink her tea.

After her meeting with Elena, Bonnie took her list of jobs to Damon for his authorization. They'd already gone through what they were expecting Elena to ask for and they needed to see if there was anything else required. Damon had already gotten a task in mind for Bonnie, although he had yet to mention it to her, which was why he'd asked her to come see him as soon as her meeting with Elena was finished. Bonnie knocked on the study door and Damon called her in. He pointed to the seat opposite him for her to sit down.

"Okay, so what happened at the meeting?" Damon asked.

"It was pretty much what was expected Master Damon." Bonnie replied as she passed him a list of tasks Elena had asked her to help with, including hair, adorning outer garments, choosing new clothes and helping with various other chores a lady of her standing would be expected to undertake.

Damon nodded as he went down the list, which was exactly what he suspected Elena would ask for.

"Anyway, I would like to add something to that list, a secret job. I want you to watch her closely for me and report back anything unusual." he said.

"Like what?" Bonnie frowned.

"If she needs medical help." Damon started. "If she has mood swings, if there is a possibility she is with child..." he continued as Bonnie cast her eyes down. "What is it Bonnie?" Damon demanded.

"She is most definitely not with child." Bonnie shook her head. "I got her some Valerian root from Grams. I don't think she is familiar with the herbal practices we have here, what with her father being a doctor and all." she explained. "Mrs Salvatore mentioned using laudanum, but when I told her everyone would know she needed a doctor in a small town, then she seemed to prefer the idea of asking Grams." she said. "I also think she was a little scared to...well you know." she said. Bonnie knew Damon well and their relationship was fairly open, especially considering she was a servant. This was because Grams had been Damon's wet nurse and nanny as a child. As a result, he had grown to know Bonnie and Emily (who was the same age as Damon) through her. This was why he'd chosen Bonnie as he knew he could trust her.

"Why would she be scared?" Damon frowned.

"I have my guesses." Bonnie shrugged. "I'm not allowed to see her body, and I know Mr Salvatore said it was because she is the wife of a Pastor, but Eliza Young would have a handmaiden when she was attending town special events. You even asked me to do it a few times." she said. "It just don't seem right to me. Nobody is allowed to help her bathe or wash her hair. Mr Salvatore insists on being the one to help her with her undergarments." she told him.

"So Stefan said." Damon frowned. "Why do you think that is?" he asked.

Bonnie sighed. "I don't know." she said, thinking for a moment. "She does seem very nervous." she frowned.

"Well keep your eye on her." Damon told her. "Make sure she goes to Grams for her medical needs." he said.

"Oh, there was something." Bonnie suddenly remembered. "She asked if Grams could get something to help her with getting in the family way." she told him. "She says Mr Salvatore thinks she barren." she said.

"Oh." Damon frowned. "He hasn't mentioned anything to me." he said.

"Maybe he doesn't want to embarrass her." Bonnie suggested.

"Her father is a doctor. I think questions would have started to be asked by now if they thought she was." Damon mused. "See what you can find out." he said. "Gain her trust. I'd also suggest you keep her up to date on the town gossip. It will help her with her job as the Pastor's wife. Eliza found it very useful, so did Arthur."

"The shepherd needs to know everything about his flock." Bonnie agreed with a smiled. "I'll get on it." she said.

"Just don't tell Stefan about this." Damon said. "This part of your job is between you and me." he said.

"My lips are sealed." Bonnie agreed. "Is there anything else?" she asked.

"You can go now." Damon told her. "Just let Mrs Salvatore know I shall be taking her on a tour of the gardens shortly. They are beautiful at this time of year with the spring flowers. It might cheer her up." he said as Bonnie got up.

"I'll let her know right away." Bonnie nodded and left to let Elena know of Damon's instructions, but just as she reached the door she turned to look at Damon. "You like her don't you?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"She is in my house and therefore under my protection." Damon replied. "It is my job to ensure she is safe and well. That is all." he said slightly more curtly than he would usually speak in front of Bonnie.

"Yes Master Salvatore. I'll get right on it." Bonnie turned around and smirked. Maybe there was hope for him after all.

 **Nobody deserves the treatment Damon and Elena have been receiving from their respective spouses.**

 **I did some research on what natural remedies were used around the time and what are known to relieve PMS/PMT today so I opted for those 2. I don't know how accurate Valerian root is as I've never used it, but I do know Evening Primrose oil helps significantly, but it must be used all month long. I am assuming they would have applied them in the same manner.**

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They are always appreciated, especially with a new story.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Overall this chapter is a slightly more cheerful one. Plenty of sweet Delena.**

 **Unfortunately though, I once again have to give out a warning for some slightly upsetting content. This will not happen as often as the story goes on.**

Elena was feeling a lot better. Her blood had come but the Valerian root was working and her stomach was no longer sore. Bonnie told her she would need two cups per day and she would bring some to her after supper. Bonnie also told her she would get the evening primrose for her in a couple of days after the cramps had naturally calmed down. She told her this could also aid in a woman being with child as from her experience, sometimes women who had difficult cramps would take a little longer to get in the family way. Grams said evening primrose prevented the cramps instead of curing them and as a result women could more easily bear a child.

This gave some comfort to Elena. Stefan had been the only one who had questioned whether Elena was able to carry a child or not. Not even her own father, who was a doctor had broached the topic with her, although she suspected it could be because he was a little embarrassed to discuss such matters with his daughter. Therefore Elena found some comfort in there being someone she could confide in regarding these matters, even if it were only as if she were asking a general question. However Bonnie seemed fairly astute and quickly picked up on even the slightest snippet of information Elena gave, meaning she would need to be careful, just in case anything she said out of term, got back to Stefan.

The other piece of information Bonnie brought was regarding a request from Damon, who wanted to show Elena the rest of the gardens. If it wasn't for her fear of Stefan, she would have been more excited. However she was adamant she was going to get to know Damon as he seemed like a kind man who was loved by the people he worked for. Whether she went ahead with her plan only time would tell, but she needed to gain his trust first of all. Therefore she asked Bonnie to help her dress appropriately for the walk through the gardens.

As the weather was bright, warm and sunny, for the time of year, Elena didn't feel like she needed to be dressed up in the warmest of clothing possible. It was only when Bonnie complained how cold it was, did Elena realized she had not anticipated how much warmer Mystic Falls was than in Chicago. Her entire wardrobe would be practically useless for the summer. Her current summer clothes were what would be appropriate for the day. However Bonnie had assured her they would ensure Elena had some new clothes which were more suitable to the local weather. It was another thing Elena wished Stefan had told her as it had been embarrassing her having to tell Bonnie she hadn't been aware of the differences, and Stefan hadn't told her. It was only when Bonnie herself assured Elena that Stefan may have forgotten himself as he had been away from Mystic Falls for five years and Chicago hadn't been the only place Stefan had lived in that period of time.

It was eleven in the morning when Elena met Damon outside his study. He was armed with a small picnic basket and a huge smile on his handsome face.

"I hope you do not mind sister." Damon looked down at the basket. "You ate so very little this morning, I was afraid you may faint if you are not adequately fed." he said.

"That is most kind dear brother." Elena replied, noticing the maids cleaning, which meant they would stick to the formal address until they were alone.

Damon held out his arm for Elena. "Would you?" he asked.

"My pleasure Mr Salvatore." Elena smiled as he led her off to see the gardens.

Damon showed Elena first the lawns and the rose garden. Off to one side were the woods which he reliably informed her housed a pond where he and Stefan used to play as children, and where Stefan had one time, broken his arm climbing a tree. Damon took Elena to see the maze which had been planted the year before their mother died in 1858, making the bushes now twelve years old and growing above Damon's head. He didn't take her inside as they decided to eat at the tree on the small hill which, on a clear day like today, gave a magnificent view into Mystic Falls.

They settled down to eat the picnic which contained an assortment of sandwiches, fried chicken and different pickles. Damon regaled her of stories about when he and Stefan were children, some of which made her laugh. It was hard to believe the fun loving, sweet young boy Damon was describing, was her cruel, alcoholic husband. It made Elena wonder what had happened to Stefan to make him change so much.

"I hope you don't think I'm being rude, but can I ask you something?" Elena asked nervously. "You are the only person I can ask about this." she said.

"Most certainly." Damon smiled. "I'll answer as honestly as possible." he promised.

Elena bit down on her lip and took a deep breath. "When did Stefan start drinking?" she asked.

Damon thought for a minute. "I think it wasn't long after mother died." he said. "At first it was just a nip hear and there. And for a number of years it stayed that way. Then I went away to fight in the war and when I came back on leave I noticed he was drunk on the first nigh. I kept it hidden from father, which, in hindsight might have been the biggest mistake I've ever made in my life." Damon looked at her. "My father was a cruel man, and he had no problems with beating us. When I found Stefan drunk, I was just trying to protect him from getting a beating from father. But I don't know whether it was too late or not by then." he said, his eyes far away. "I was completely besotted with Katherine at the time and barely noticed how bad Stefan was. I saw him drinking, but I couldn't be sure whether he was actually drunk. You see the more he drank, the less it showed over time." he sighed. "When father died, I thought he would sink even deeper into the bottle. But he turned it around and decided to become a Methodist minister. Well I assumed he'd turned it all around. I am guessing I was wrong." he said as Elena nodded sadly.

"I only found out when we were married." Elena sighed. "Although I could never smell it on him." she frowned. "Not before, and I can always smell someone who has been drinking whiskey." she said.

"Maybe he was drinking something else." Damon suggested, but Elena shook her head. "He was very different before we married. If he was drinking, he wasn't drinking as much as he does now." she told him.

"How much was he drinking in Chicago?" Damon asked.

Elena thought for a moment. "At first he tried to hide it from me." she told him. "But eventually he stopped. I don't think he really cared what I thought about his drinking." she said sadly. "When we left Chicago, he was drinking over half a bottle of whiskey a day." Elena told him. "I'm sure if we could have afforded more, he would have been drinking more." she said. "This is why I needed to talk to you about it. I have concerns about whether Stefan will begin to drink a bottle of whiskey a day." she said. "Now he has the access to it, I'm not sure if he will be able to help himself." she said.

"Do not worry Elena." Damon smiled. "I have already got a plan to find out exactly how much his is drinking." he told her.

"How?" Elena asked, widening her eyes in curiosity.

"Do you trust me?" Damon asked.

Elena thought for a moment as to whether she trusted Damon or not. She had no reason not to. Stefan's issue must have gone back to the trauma of his mother's death when he was a child. Stefan hadn't always been a monster. On the other hand Damon had handled his losses with more maturity, simply because he was older. Neither brother was born that way, however their life experiences had made them into the men they were today and Damon had simply coped better than Stefan. Damon was the Stefan without his alcohol demons, which meant Elena felt she could, to some degree trust him.

"Yes." she smiled.

"Then you have nothing to worry about." Damon smiled a reassuring smile. "Cake?" he asked as he took a small cake out of the basket.

"Just a small piece." Elena smiled demurely. She had no idea what it was about Damon, but he had this habit of being able to make her blush.

"How did you and Bonnie get on?" Damon asked.

"She seems lovely." Elena replied.

"Her mom died when she was three." Damon told her as he sliced her a piece of cake. "So she was brought up by her Grams, who also helps with the healing on the plantation." he continued. "Emily is the same age as me, and Bonnie is the same age as Stefan. Grams was our nanny, so we played with them as children." he explained.

"Was that even allowed?" Elena frowned.

"Father didn't know." Damon smirked. "He thought Stefan and I were just out fishing. And mother pretended not to know, but I think she did." he laughed. "But we'd all play together. Back when life was simple." he smiled wistfully. "What about you?" he asked.

"I had a few friends as a child." Elena told him. "But in the city we couldn't play outside. Instead we had playrooms and made do with our dolls." she smiled. "I wanted to be a doctor, but father told me I couldn't be one because I was a girl. He said I was supposed to marry a nice young gentleman and have a family." she went on. "And so I met Stefan." she added.

Damon noted the tinge of sadness in her voice when she referred to her meeting Stefan. Elena clearly wasn't happy about his brother's alcohol consumption, but neither was Damon. He worried for Stefan's health, as he could already see the damage it was doing. But Damon was also concerned about Elena's health, and he wondered what impact Stefan's drinking was having upon her. However, that would be a matter for Bonnie to find out on his behalf.

They finished up their picnic and headed back down to the gardens. As there was nobody about, Elena decided to challenge herself with the maze.

"How will I know I've got to the middle?" Elena frowned.

"There is a gargoyle marking the spot." Damon told her.

"And if I get lost?" Elena asked.

"Then I will come and rescue you." Damon smiled a huge smile, which made Elena's heart seem to thud even louder than usual. She just hoped Damon didn't have special hearing where he could hear the effect he was having on her heartbeat. "Just call out and I will try and find you. I know this maze very well." he assured her.

"Good." Elena grinned before she set off to find her way around the maze.

At first Elena thought she was doing really well until she met her first dead end. She backtracked and took another route, which again led to a dead end. By her third go, she finally found the center and touched the gargoyle.

"I found it." she called out.

"That's the easy part." Damon called back to her. "You need to find your way out." he laughed.

"That's no problem." Elena replied as she began to walk back the way she thought she came, however, once again she kept reaching dead ends. After a few minutes she started to get a little worried, especially as she noticed the skies darkening above her.

"Are you okay?" Elena heard Damon's voice call out to her.

"I think I'm lost." she called back.

"Stay where you are. I'll come and find you." Damon told her.

"Won't you get lost?" Elena asked.

"Elena, I've been walking through this maze since I was young, and before it was as high as it is now." he told her. "I could find my way out blindfolded." he assured her.

"I'll just wait here." Elena promised.

A few minutes later, Elena began to worry even more, Damon hadn't found her yet and she could see the clouds rolling in, suggesting rain was in the air. The wind had gotten up and she had goose flesh all over her arms. She noticed a crow sitting on the bush watching her, which made her feel even more uncomfortable. She folded her arms to keep herself warm and shivered. A combination of fear and cold taking over. Elena elected to walk around in a small circle, hoping it would warm her up a little.

Elena wasn't looking where she was going when she turned around, as she suddenly bumped into something, which made her jump, and in turn caused her to stumble and fall. Fortunately whatever it was managed to catch her before she hit the ground. Looking up Elena saw Damon smiling down at her, his arms wrapped tightly around her waist to stop her from falling down. He pulled her up and laughed.

"Did I scare you?" Damon asked.

"A little." Elena replied meekly. "I was feeling a little scared, there was a crow watching me." she told him.

"I'm sorry for scaring you." Damon apologized. "The crow would be old Sam. It's how I found you." he told her.

"You found me using a crow?" Elena frowned.

Damon nodded. "He helps to find those who are lost in the maze." he explained. "We've been training him since he was abandoned as a chick. Crows are extremely clever and can be very useful at times. Can't you old Sam." he called out, turning to the crow who was still watching. The bird looked at them quizzically before cawing and flying off. "Are you well?" Damon asked as he noticed Elena was shivering. He still hadn't removed his arms from around her waist, and deep down he didn't want to. This was the first time since Katherine he'd had such a reaction to a woman.

"I'm a little cold." Elena admitted, but she was also disturbed by the reaction she was having to Damon. His arms were still wrapped tightly around her waist, which suddenly made her feel safe and secure. As if she were finally home. Unfortunately, Damon wasn't her husband, and them standing like that wasn't proper, but Elena just wanted a few more seconds of being held by a gentle, kind and admittedly extremely handsome man.

"Would you like my coat?" Damon asked.

"I think I will be fine." Elena replied, knowing Stefan would probably smell Damon's spicy cologne all over her. "But we should get back, it looks like we are in for some rain." she said looking up to the skies before lowering her eyes and settling her sight on his lips.

Elena knew her thoughts were inappropriate. Kissing one's husband's brother was definitely not proper, but the urge was buried deep inside her, and it took a lot to fight against it.

"I think you are right." Damon agreed as a large drop of water came out from the sky. "And I think we need to get inside quickly." he said, as he took off his coat and held it above their heads to protect them from the spots of rain which were now starting to fall.

Elena lifted her skirt and let Damon lead them out of the maze while she kept herself close to him to prevent her from getting wet. They both nearly fell a couple of times as the ground was getting slippy. As they exited the maze they were both laughing so hard, at first, they didn't notice a figure standing, watching them in the distance. However as they got closer to the house, they saw Stefan, his arms folded, watching them. His face was murderous, suddenly Elena began to tremble with fear, which did not go unnoticed by Damon. That was why Damon opted to speak first.

"Elena got lost in the maze." Damon smiled. "I'd have never have found her without the help of Old Sam." he said.

"And you just had to help?" Stefan asked, his voice hard ad cold.

"It was about to rain." Damon stopped smiling as he realized how angry his brother was. "As you can see, we are all already wet and I would like us to go inside before we catch a fever." he said as he ushered them inside.

"Upstairs, to our room!" Stefan told Elena, before noticing Damon's confused face at the tone he was using with her. "Damon is right, you are soaking wet through. We need to get you out of those things and into something dry my dear. I'll be along to help you change in a moment after I've had a word with my brother." he smiled a clearly fake smile as Elena lowered her eyes and left the two brothers.

Once out of earshot Stefan turned to Damon. "How dare you." he growled. "What will people think?" he asked.

"They will think she is a respectable married woman who got lost in a maze!" Damon's eyes flared with anger.

"People will talk!" Stefan insisted.

"She is married to the church minister Stefan. She is the last person anyone would speak ill of in that manner." Damon insisted. "Many have gotten lost in that maze, more so in the last couple of years since the hedges became so high. I am always the one who finds whoever is lost with the help of Old Sam. Nobody will think twice about it." he growled. "I think you need to attend your wife before she catches a chill." he said as Stefan eyed him for another moment before taking off upstairs to follow Elena.

Damon returned to his study, closed the door, poured himself a finger of whiskey and sat down for a moment. Every word he had said to his brother was the truth, but yet it felt like it was a lie. He had wanted Elena to get lost in the maze so he could find her. If it had been his choice, they would have stayed together in the maze for the rest of the afternoon, rain or not. The best part had been when he had Elena in his arms. It had felt so right, so perfect, as if that was where she was meant to be. Damon also knew Elena had felt something too. The way she looked at him longingly and her eyes wandering to his lips as if she were begging him to kiss her. He was sure he didn't imagine that. But she was with with his brother, who was now helping her out of her wet clothes.

Suddenly his mind betrayed him and he imagined himself in Stefan's position, helping her undress, removing her corset and petticoats. Kissing her soft, bare olive skin, eliciting small moans from her lips. Damon felt himself go hard with desire, so he shifted himself accordingly. He needed to stop himself having lustful thoughts his brother's wife. For that he needed some kind of release. That was when he realized he hadn't visited Victoria in over a week. Maybe an evening in her company would help relieve this urge to run away with Elena and protect her from the world, although he did note that wasn't a particularly lustful thought.

Damon sighed and got up. Deciding to get changed and head to town to see Victoria for a couple of hours, he needed to change out of his wet clothes and wear something a little bit less noticeable. Gossip was always rife in Mystic Falls, and every one of the plantation owners had either taken with a slave or had use for a whore, even the married ones. Damon was aware his father had fathered at least one child with one of the women workers on the plantation, although he did not know who. Now slavery was banned, the whore houses flourished, however it was still a taboo subject. Damon had never taken a Mistress when he was married, he'd had no need to, but since Katherine died, he missed being in the arms of a woman. And even though Victoria was a whore, she was reserved for the plantation owners and had a very sympathetic ear, with sometimes sound advice. What was said and done when he spent time with Victoria never went any further than the four walls of her boudoir. Therefore she was often the perfect sounding board as well as a way to relieve certain needs that a man would encounter from time to time.

He quietly set off upstairs to his own room to change when he heard noises coming from Stefan and Elena's room. At first he thought it best to quickly walk past as they were probably making up for their argument, however when he heard a whimper from Elena, which was clearly not a whimper of pleasure, Damon decided to listen in. he put his head to the door to find out what was going on.

Stefan loomed over Elena who was crouching down on the floor. She knew this was a terrible position to be in as she was too near his foot, and he hadn't hesitated to kick her in the past. To make matters worse, she didn't have the protection of her corset, which sometimes took a little bit of the force of his fist or boot.

"You acted like a common whore Elena." Stefan growled. "You have made me look a fool." he said.

"I didn't mean to." Elena begged. "I got lost in there." she cried.

"And my brother just happened to be the knight in shining armor there to rescue you." Stefan sneered. "Let me tell you something about me hero of a brother." he said. "He visits whore houses, because he only loved and ever will love Katherine. He cannot bear the love of another woman so he takes refuge in the arms of sinners because he has a lustful nature. And we know how much you hate it when I touch you, how do you think you'd feel with a man who expects a little more than you just lying there and pretending it isn't happening?" he asked, kicking her in the ribs so hard she wasn't sure whether he'd cracked one. Elena to groaned in agony.

"I only got lost in the maze. It was nothing else." Elena insisted.

"I don't believe you Elena." Stefan slapped her across the face. "You've already lied to me today. You know how much of a sin that is in the eyes of god?" he scowled.

"I promise, I haven't lied to you about anything." she cried as tears began to stream down her face.

"Then what is this?" he asked, holding one of her rags in the air.

"It started after you left." she whimpered. "I promise."

"I don't think it did." Stefan growled. "You were quick to use the chamber pot this morning. It had already been changed when I got there. I think you just didn't want to tell me you are useless again." he said as he thumped her in the ribs. "You lying bitch!" he grabbed her hair and pulled her up to her feet and slapped her once again. By this time Elena was crying. "Shut up sniveling, you useless slut. I should have never married such a worthless woman in the first place. Although I never intended to actually marry you, the wedding was never supposed to go ahead. Our plans went wrong. he said with a hint of regret in his voice, before looking at Elena in disgust. "And now, here I am stuck with a useless wife who can't even do the decent thing and give me an heir." he raised his voice. "Now get up, and be ready to make yourself look presentable." he demanded as Damon pulled away from the door.

Damon had heard enough. He headed to his room to change not knowing what to do. It explained a lot of Elena's behavior, her being jumpy and nervous. Stefan must have been beating her for a while, and her being in Damon's presence was making matters worse, however Damon wondered whether that was more of an excuse than a reason. Stefan was punishing Elena for not being pregnant, but Damon had wondered whether Stefan's drinking habits might have something to do with that little problem. All Damon wanted to do was waltz into that bedroom and pull her away from Stefan and beat his brother to a pulp, however that would simply make matters worse. He needed to be smart about what he was going to do to help her.

Damon was also perplexed regarding Stefan's comments about him never supposed to be marrying Elena in the first place, and that a plan he was forging with someone else went wrong. How could anything have prevented him from marrying Elena? Damon changed out of his clothes and into something dry. He was no longer in the mood to see Victoria, although she might prove to be a useful ear, however he couldn't prove Stefan right. And physical matters which needed attending, he would have to resolve himself.

The only other option Damon had was to help Elena was to enlist the assistance of Bonnie. The beatings explained Stefan's reluctance to allow Bonnie to see Elena naked as she was probably covered in bruises, a thought which made him feel sick. Damon knew he wouldn't be able to help Elena get a divorce, but maybe she could run away to somewhere safe. He stormed back down to his study and rung the bell to ask if Bonnie would come and meet with him. They had a lot to discuss.

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They are always appreciated.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **CANDICE121**

 **Elena would not have been able to get a divorce back then. Women's rights were practically non-existent. Her and Stefan's relationship, would have sadly been one which was all too common. When a man married a woman she was for intents and purposes, his property. Her job was to make babies. Stefan would be able to divorce Elena, but as a man of the cloth, again it would have been frowned upon. I can't answer any questions about future plots.**

Damon was seething. He felt ill with rage at what he'd heard his brother doing to that poor, defenseless girl. He wanted to take it out on something, but his usual outlet, taking Matilda out for a gallop, was not an option right now. Maybe later once he'd discussed the matter with Bonnie, would he go riding. There were another couple of hours until sundown, which gave him plenty of time for a good run. Therefore, when he requested Bonnie's presence, he also asked for Matilda to be tacked up and ready for him shortly.

Bonnie knocked on the door to Damon's study and entered when he called her. He was clearly shook up by something, which was fairly rare as he was usually impervious to fear or shock. He gestured for her to sit down in the chair opposite him, which she did and waited until he said something.

"I made an unpleasant discovery today." Damon told her. "Something which disturbs me greatly, and I do not know how to handle it." he said.

This comment surprised Bonnie as Damon always had a plan to resolve every crisis. The fact he was asking for her opinion meant whatever the problem was, it was bad and required a woman's opinion. Her immediate thought was this was related to Elena as she couldn't think of any other reason why only a woman would be able to help.

"Before we discuss the matter, I do not want any details of this conversation going any further than these four walls." Damon warned her. "Not to Grams, nor Emily, or Enzo, and certainly not Stefan." he said.

"I promise." Bonnie frowned, realizing the seriousness of the matter. He had never asked her to make a promise like this before.

"Grams may need to know some aspects of the situation at some point, but we will cross that bridge when we come to it." he told her.

"I will abide by whatever you say Master Damon." Bonnie promised. "What is troubling you? I have never seen you so...perturbed before." she asked.

"Did you hear about Elena getting lost earlier in the maze?" Damon asked.

"Of course." Bonnie smiled. "Old Sam helped you find her." she shrugged.

"Well my brother was waiting for us as we got out of the maze." Damon told her. "Let me just say he wasn't very pleased to see me rescuing her." he said.

"Why?" Bonnie frowned. "Nobody would be found without Old Sam, and he doesn't like hunting for anyone else other than you." she said. "Was he jealous?" Bonnie suddenly asked.

"I'm not sure." Damon frowned. "He was angry she had been alone in the maze with me. He felt it was inappropriate for me to rescue her." he explained.

"That seems a little strange." Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "If she'd have stayed in there, she would have gotten wet and would have become sick. Surely Mr Salvatore would not want that for Mistress Elena." she shook her head.

"It appears it is more preferable than being seen with me." Damon lowered his eyes.

"But you are a man of the utmost respectable integrity." Bonnie argued back. "You wouldn't do anything to break Stefan's trust. Especially not with his wife. You were simply looking out for her." she said. Bonnie only used Stefan and Damon's given names when she was getting angry, and on this occasion, Damon did not mind one little bit as he was also angry with his brother.

"That isn't all." Damon told her. "He was angry with her for lying about her not being with child." he said.

"Had she told him she was with child?" Bonnie asked.

Damon shook his head. "Not that I am aware of. He said she had kept her...her...you know, a secret." he told her.

"Impossible." Bonnie frowned. "She didn't require the rags before I brought them this morning." she told him. "Stefan had already left by then." she said.

Damon took a deep breath. "He beat her Bonnie." he said in a low voice. "I heard him slapping her, and goodness knows what else. She was crying. He also called her a whore and claimed she was useless and barren because she hadn't given him an heir yet." he said.

Bonnie put her hand to her mouth in shock. "Oh my." she said sadly. "That explains why Stefan wouldn't let me see her without clothes, and why he insisted he tie her corset." she added. "What can we do?" she asked.

"I guess that depends on Elena." Damon replied. "When father used to beat mother, she would never admit to it and would constantly make excuses for him." he said. "I don't know if she will be the same, but even if Elena wants our help, she might be too scared to admit it like mother." he told her. "So we need to let her know we know something without scaring her." he suggested.

"How?" Bonnie frowned.

"Firstly she's going to need some salve to put on those bruises what he's probably given her." Damon replied. "Do you think you can get something from Grams?" he asked.

"Of course." Bonnie nodded. "But if I can't see her how can I do anything?" she asked.

"This is when we are going to have to get creative and devious." Damon sighed, not liking the fact he was having to create lies to help Elena, but sometimes bad things had to be done for the greater good. "Earlier in the maze, Elena slipped a few times." Damon started. "I caught her and she was fine, there wouldn't have been a scratch on her. But it's all we have right now to use as an excuse for the salve." he said. "Take it to her and tell her I want her to put it on so Stefan doesn't get angry for me leaving her too long." he continued. "Tell her I know she must have hurt herself and to let you treat her. Make her know you are expecting to see bruises. Also make it clear _I_ don't want Stefan to know about it. This might make her feel a little easier about letting you treat her." he said.

"I'm not sure if this is going to work." Bonnie shook her head.

"Tell her you worked with Pastor Young's wife and you've treat her for these things lots of times." Damon suggested. "Suggest if she's not comfortable with you doing it, then Grams can do it. I doubt she'll want to see Grams. If Elena still won't get the bruises treat, tell her I need to see her." he pinched his nose at the last comment. "But that is the last resort Bonnie. I don't want to swap one domineering man for another." he said. "If you have to lie and say things can fester and get worse out here in the south, resulting in fevers and sometimes death, then do it." he added forcefully.

"And say we successfully treat her." Bonnie said. "What then?" she asked.

"We have to try and deal with the causes of his beating." Damon frowned. "He said he was angry she wasn't with child. But I don't believe that." he said.

"Why?" Bonnie asked.

"He's angry for another reason." Damon told her. "I think it's related to the whiskey." he said. "Elena told me she didn't know about the drinking until after they married."

"I'd have thought that would have been tough to hide." Bonnie frowned. "Especially with him being a minister and all." she said.

"Maybe he wasn't drinking then" Damon suggested, as he began to think, when it hit him. "Actually, there's a chance he wasn't." he said. "Well not in excess."

"So what changed?" Bonnie asked.

"Katherine died on the day of Stefan's wedding to Elena." Damon reminded Bonnie. "He said to Elena they weren't supposed to marry, but the plans went wrong, whatever that means. Maybe he and Katherine had made plans together." he said sadly.

"Do you still have the letters?" Bonnie asked, but Damon shook his head.

"I burned them." he sighed.

"Why do you think it is important?" Bonnie asked.

"If he is always like this, then she needs to get out of the marriage, otherwise he will kill her, with his head in a noose." Damon took a deep breath. "I will not idly stand by and let that happen to either of them." he said.

"He won't accept divorce." Bonnie warned. "No matter what the consequences are." she said.

"Then we'll have to think of something else." Damon said. "Maybe we can help her escape." he suggested. "But I think right now we need to think about the short term. Wait until we know more before we decide how to help her get away from him."

"Well then, I suggest, for the time being, maybe we simply reduce the risk." Bonnie offered. "Let's see if her being with child helps. He may be too happy about it and stop beating her." she suggested.

"He might stop beating her for that reason." Damon corrected her. "But he'll still find other reasons to beat her." he said.

"Then you can put her in a different room." Bonnie suggested. "It isn't unusual to do that. If they aren't trying for a baby, they do not need to share a room." she said as Damon raised an eyebrow. "Technically they don't." she insisted.

"I can only keep them apart while they are under my roof." Damon reminded her.

"Delay the house being finished." Bonnie said. "Hopefully by then we'll have a better understanding of the situation, and may have more options available to us." she said.

"Good idea. I think that is the start of a plan." Damon nodded. "First thing is to treat her bruises. And whenever we hear anything untoward, we find a way to treat her injuries until she feels comfortable coming to us." he said. "The second part is to find out why she isn't with child." he said.

"No offense Master Damon, but I think the disappearing whiskey might have something to do with that." Bonnie offered.

"That had occurred to me." Damon agreed. "See what Elena knows about helping herself." he said.

"She asked me to ask Grams for something to help." Bonnie reminded him.

"Talk to her about it." Damon suggested. "You've got three kids. Offer suggestions." he said.

"She's not going to want to talk about that." Bonnie said through gritted teeth. "Not with me, I'm a stranger."

"Subtle questions Bonnie." Damon nodded. "You're good at those." he smiled.

"Fine!" Bonnie harrumphed. "But she won't tell me anything." she shook her head.

"Oh I think you'll find her more open to talking than you expect." he said as he thought about their earlier conversation regarding Stefan. He had a feeling Elena was desperate to tell someone something, and ask for help. He just needed to give her the nudge to ask for help.

"And what do you plan on doing about Stefan?" Bonnie asked.

"Firstly I'm monitoring his drinking." Damon told her. "Elena and I have already discussed that." he said. "I'm hoping the possibility of Elena being with child might encourage him to stop." he said. "If not, then we will need to resort to plan B." he said.

"And what is plan B?" Bonnie asked.

"To come up with a viable plan C." Damon grimaced.

"You don't have one yet?" Bonnie asked as Damon shook his head. "Great." she sighed and rolled her eyes.

"What might work now might not work in a month." Damon insisted. "There's no point in rushing into something which won't be of any help to us in the future. It could do more damage." he said. "For the time being, it might be an idea to go check on Elena now." he suggested.

"I will." Bonnie agreed. "Is there anything else Master Damon?" she asked.

"That'll be all Bonnie." he said. "And, remember, just keep this between us for now." he reminded her.

"I will." Bonnie smiled. And with that she left the room.

Elena was sat in her room alone and in pain. Stefan had finished with his beating, and had put her corset on too tightly on purpose, which hurt her rib terribly. It wasn't broken but she knew there would be a nasty bruise to later. Her stomach was also hurting from her monthly bleed, but most of all, he'd wounded her pride. He'd told her had everything gone to plan, they would never have married. Elena wondered what that meant. She just hoped he'd said it in a fit of rage as it would mean she was enduring all of this torture all for nothing. What made matters worse, was she had had a wonderful time with Damon, and for a few blissful hours, her problems with Stefan had felt like they belonged to another person.

In her mind, she wanted to dream she had been on a picnic with the real man she had bee destined for. The one who was good and kind, not the one she actually married. In that sense, Elena decided, in her minds eye she was being unfaithful to Stefan, even if it was only in thought and not deed. She wondered if god would punish her for such idle fantasies. However, Elena was brought out of her reverie when she heard a knock at the door.

"Who is there?" she called out.

"It is Bonnie, Mistress Elena." Bonnie's sweet happy voice rang out from the other side of the door. "I've brought you your tea." she said.

"Come in Bonnie." Elena called out as Bonnie opened the door, while carrying a small tray, which held a small blue, red and white china teapot, a cup and saucer, a little pot of something which Elena could not identify, and something wrapped in a piece of linen.

Bonnie placed the tray down on the small table near the window and began to pour the steaming hot tea into the cup. Elena looked at the rest of the contents of the tray suspiciously, but didn't say anything. Instead she gestured for Bonnie to sit opposite her. Once Bonnie was sat, she decided to observe Elena's movements, to see if she was in any discomfort.

"What is all of this?" Elena finally asked.

"Well that is your medicinal tea." Bonnie told her as she unwrapped the piece of linen to reveal a twig. "This is willow bark, it helps with any pains you might get." she said as she took the lid off the pot and Elena looked inside, immediately backing away at the odor, which made Bonnie chuckle as she put the lid back on. "Master Damon asked for me to get something to treat you for your falls while inside the maze." she explained. "He was worried you might have hurt yourself. This is Grams bruisewort salve which should ease any bruises you may have gotten earlier. He said you were slipping and sliding on the wet grass." she smiled. "I can help you put it on if you like." she offered.

"No, no, no." Elena shook her head and lowering her eyes.

Bonnie thought for a moment. Elena was wincing with pain as she moved therefore she clearly needed the medicine. "What if I leave it with you?" she asked. "You could try putting it on yourself. Master Damon would hate for you to be in any discomfort on his account. As far as he is concerned, as you are under his roof, he is responsible for any injuries or illnesses which should ail you." she told her.

Elena took a deep breath, the pain relief and help with the healing of the bruises would definitely be welcome. "I'm sure I can put the salve on myself." she smiled. "I will have to thank Mr Salvatore for his kind help."

Deciding a few white lied for the greater good were going to be required regarding the more personal questions, she had opted to pretend Grams had made a list of questions for her to ask, just to make sure she gave Elena the correct herbs to help her with her issues. In truth Grams had suggested Stefan cut out the whiskey, or Elena should find herself someone else to father the child, although Bonnie was quite sure the latter comment was actually a joke.

"So I spoke to Grams about your other little issue." Bonnie started as she took a piece of paper out of her pocket with the list of questions she was going to ask. "In order for her to make sure she's giving you the right help, she wanted me to ask you a few questions." she said taking a deep breath, but they are a little personal, so if you're not comfortable answering them, tell me." she insisted.

Elena moved uncomfortably. "I will." she replied nervously.

"How often do you and Mr Salvatore, try?" she asked.

Elena blushed at the question. "About twice a week I suppose." Elena shrugged. As far as she was concerned it was twice a week too many. It was the only blessing of her monthly blood as Stefan wouldn't touch her while she bled.

"Is that all?" Bonnie asked, genuinely shocked. She then had an idea, use her own experiences to make Elena feel more comfortable. "Me an my Enzo, we're twice a night." she nodded. "I guess that's why we've got three children." she laughed as she saw Elena looking at her shocked. "Not that we want any more, but no harm in practice right." she winked. "My Enzo only has to give me that special look with those gorgeous brown eyes of his, and I want to rip his clothes off right there."

"Wouldn't that be a little uncomfortable?" Elena asked shyly.

"Why would it be uncomfortable?" Bonnie asked. "Are you finding it slightly painful?" she looked down on her list, realizing she hadn't thought there might be some other reason for Elena's problems, which may after all require something from Grams.

"A little." Elena admitted, deciding to open up. She wondered if there might be a problem after all, and if there were, not being honest wouldn't solve it.

"Well I'm guessing if it hurts, it's not very nice." Bonnie sighed as Elena shook her head. Then another, more worrying thought crossed Bonnie's mind. If she were right, Bonnie would need to tread carefully with her questions. "Does he prepare you good?" she asked.

Elena looked confused. "Prepare me?" she asked.

"I think that means no." Bonnie frowned. "You'd know exactly what I mean if he did." she said.

"Is that the problem?" Elena asked. "Me not being prepared?"

"It doesn't help." Bonnie sighed, she had a bad feeling about what was going on. If Stefan was beating her and not doing what was needed to allow him to properly make love to her, then maybe he was making it intentionally uncomfortable. Bonnie would have to choose her words very carefully with her next question. "When you try, does he warn you beforehand, or does he just go ahead when he is feeling in the mood?" she asked.

"I never know." Elena shrugged, clearly not comprehending Bonnie's suggestions, which is exactly what Bonnie had wanted. "He just comes into the room and does his business. But at least he has the decency to take it out before the messy bit, although he doesn't always make a mess." she smiled.

Bonnie pinched her nose. She had no words to describe what she had heard. Clearly Elena had never had a proper talk about how to get in the family way, she had taken Stefan's at his word. On top of that, Stefan was accusing Elena of being barren, when he knew full well she would have difficulty getting pregnant if he withdrew from her. Therefore Bonnie decided it was time for Elena to learn the facts of life.

"Did your mother ever give you the talk about babies?" Bonnie asked.

Elena shook her head. "She died before I met Stefan." she said.

"But your father is a doctor. Did anyone talk to you about it and the marital bed?" Bonnie frowned.

"He was to embarrassed to talk to me about it. He wouldn't let me near the books so he asked my Aunt Jenna to explain it. She just told me that I should let him do his thing, lie back and enjoy it." Elena sighed. "I just never understood what she meant by that." she said.

"Well it looks like it falls on my shoulders to give you the talk you should have had before you were married." Bonnie sighed.

"Am I doing something wrong?" Elena began to panic.

"Yes and no." Bonnie shook her head. "It sounds like Mr Salvatore isn't giving you much choice in the matter." she said. "You see that messy bit you were talking about." she said as Elena nodded. "That is supposed to be inside you." she said. "It's that stuff that helps make babies. Without it, you can't." she shrugged.

"Oh." Elena simply said. She knew he'd been forcing himself on her, but she thought what he was doing was perfectly normal. Nobody had told her any different, and all along Stefan had been blaming her, when he knew she couldn't get in the family way, unless he didn't know himself.

"Maybe Stefan didn't know." Elena suggested.

"I'm sure Mr Salvatore knows." Bonnie told her. "I believe Master Damon gave him the talk, back when he had a reputation for keeping the ladies entertained." she giggled.

"Oh." Elena's face fell. The thought of Damon keeping many women entertained bothered her, even if she did find the act unpleasant. But from Bonnie's explanation, if anything it should be a pleasant experience. In fact it bothered her almost as much as Stefan knowing what to do but not doing it right and blaming her.

"Anyway, to do it properly, a man and woman must make sure they both are ready, willing and able." Bonnie went on.

"How?" Elena frowned.

"I'm sure you know with a man." Bonnie said, hoping Elena got her meaning.

"Of course." Elena nodded. "But how does a woman prepare?" she asked.

Bonnie knew this question was coming, but it was probably the hardest to answer, as Stefan was never going to agree to it while he was forcing her, but she had to tell Elena something. She took a deep breath. "Usually kissing, touching and stroking." Bonnie nodded.

Elena cast her eyes down. "Oh!" she simply said.

"But if that's not an option, there might be something you can do to help yourself." Bonnie smiled at her idea.

"What's that?" Elena asked, all ears.

"Have you ever had that feeling when you've seen a wonderfully handsome man and he makes your body feel warm and tingly?" Bonnie asked. "Especially in the area where you know..." she started uncomfortably.

Elena remembered the the day before, when she first saw Damon and he'd had exactly the effect Bonnie was describing. At the time she thought there was something wrong with her, but from what Bonnie was telling her, it sounded like it was perfectly normal. The knowledge now of what Damon was doing, which was arousing some form of desire inside her made her blush.

"You don't need to answer that question." Bonnie smirked. "I'm sure Mr Salvatore must have affected you considering you married him." she went on, although Bonnie had a feeling it might be the wrong Salvatore brother who was affecting her. Damon affected every woman, and once upon a time, before she met Enzo, Bonnie had not been immune to taking a fancy to him, although he never saw her that way. Even after she married Enzo, Bonnie had wondered if Damon's reputation was deserved.

"What does that have to do with the act?" Elena asked.

"Close your eyes and concentrate on what affected you like that." Bonnie explained. "Keep concentrated on it all the way through." she said.

"But if Stefan isn't going to, you know. Then it won't make any difference." Elena frowned.

"Has there ever been a time when he didn't pull out fast enough?" Bonnie asked as Elena nodded in response. "Well that is when you have your chance at getting in the family way. Maybe try moving a little with him, he might like it more and forget to pull out." she suggested.

"I'll try that." Elena smiled, although deep down she knew she wouldn't.

Stefan wasn't trying for a baby, he was punishing her for him having to marry to her when he clearly had other plans. She knew her only chance was to find out what had caused him to want to punish her so badly, then maybe she could do something about it. And while she appreciated Bonnie's help, as the conversation had opened her eyes to the real world, nothing was going to work unless a baby was conceived by accident.

Elena needed someone to turn to, but Bonnie was not an option. For now she would have to wait and cope with the beatings. When the time came, she would talk this over with Damon, after all, the matter did concern him, considering the baby they weren't trying for, was meant to inherit the Salvatore fortune. At least she wouldn't be getting a beating for not being with child for another month. Elena just needed to keep her head down and hope Stefan's new job kept him occupied so he didn't feel the need to beat her.

On the other hand, Elena needed to get to know Damon some more. She needed to trust him, although she felt that grow every hour she spent in his company. He had already gone above and beyond anything Stefan had ever done to help her, even when she and Stefan were courting. Elena wanted to know if Damon could elicit that warm feeling she'd had around him, and maybe use it when Stefan next forced himself on her. Hopefully that way it wouldn't hurt as much anymore. But deep down, she wished it were Damon who was making her feel good like Bonnie had described. But that would be wrong and sinful. And no matter how much Stefan and Damon were at loggerheads, she doubted Damon would ever betray his brother like that.

As their discussion was over, Bonnie began to go through the list of things to do for Elena over the next few days. As it turned out, she was going to be fairly busy, but there would still be enough time to spend alone with Damon. That thought would have to be what kept her going, as it was the the only good part of her life, and she needed to cherish it.

 **Thank you for your wonderful reviews. They are very much appreciated.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Guest**

 **At the point of chapter 7, Stefan and Elena had not been in Mystic Falls for very long, just a few days. The only person who at that point knew about Stefan's alcoholism was Elena, but Damon worked it out pretty quickly. Alcoholics are very good at covering up their alcoholism, but he didn't care in front of Damon and Elena. He knows they can't out him. He also knows the servants won't either. His alcohol tolerance is so high he doesn't seem drunk to those who don't know him that well. He has basically lied and manipulated his way into the post. All will be revealed why at some point later in the story.**

 **This chapter is a bit longer than the previous ones. I'm sure the reason will be appreciated. ;)**

Stefan and Elena had been living in Mystic Falls at the Salvatore plantation for the last five weeks. After the initial discovery, of 's treatment towards his new wife, Damon was livid. But he was limited regarding what he could do. Stefan's standing within the community greatly hindered Damon's options. If he outed him, nobody would believe him, and most of the menfolk wouldn't bat an eyelid. Some of the men viewed their wives as commodities, and often this was the normal way to treat them.

Damon was not of that opinion. When he was a child, he'd often heard his mother crying after his father had beaten her. This was hidden from Stefan, but it still haunted Damon. Instead, he vowed never to treat a woman with disrespect. Damon was of the opinion love was the most important aspect of a marriage. A loving, happy home, would raise loving, happy children. This was still his belief, even though he never intended to look at another woman that way again. That was until Elena had walked into his life.

He knew it was wrong, what with Elena being Stefan's wife, but he couldn't help falling for her, and fast, just as he had fallen for Katherine. The difference was Elena was a kind, selfless person, who wanted to help people, whereas Katherine had been selfish who just wanted status and money. Damon felt protective over Elena, and from the moment he met her, he was inexplicably drawn to her. This was why he was making it his mission to help her.

Of course he wanted to help his brother, but the level of hatred ran deep between the two brothers, all because of Katherine. But the longer Stefan and Elena stayed with Damon, the more he could he was losing the brother he once knew to the alcohol. The man who resided at the Salvatore plantation was no longer Stefan Salvatore, he was a man who simply wore his brother's face. The Stefan he knew was already dead and gone.

Damon believed the easiest way to try and curb Stefan's alcohol consumption, was to water down the whiskey. It might not make a huge difference, but it was worth a shot. And at first it worked. Stefan was still drunk, but not by as much, however, Stefan then started to drink more, which brought them back to square one. However, to Damon and Bonnie's knowledge, their than when she started her last bleed and he again accused her of being barren, Stefan hadn't beaten Elena since the day she had gotten lost in the maze. Again, Bonnie had given her some bruisewort and willow bark for the bruising and discomfort, under the guise she'd received them from riding.

The one thing which had sickened Damon, and deeply distressed him as he knew there was little he could do about it, was Stefan accusing Elena of being barren and beating her for it, when he was knowingly forcing himself upon her and doing his best to avoid getting her with child. Bonnie had also repeated the conversation she and Elena had, although Bonnie said she'd kept some parts to herself to save blushes. She'd explained how sexually naive Elena was. Stefan had realized and manipulated her to believe what he told her about conceiving a baby was real. Elena thought it was normal for a man to force himself on a woman, and although it was all too common, as far as Damon was concerned, it didn't make it right.

From Damon's perspective, marriage was about love. An argument which had often put him on a collision course with his father. It was by mere chance, the suitor his father had selected just happened to be the same woman who stole his heart. In Damon's eyes, it was abundantly clear there was no love whatsoever from Stefan's part in his marriage to Elena. Damon assumed Elena must have had feelings for Stefan for her to marry him, but he suspected the abuse she'd endured, had put paid to any love she had for his brother. They were both locked in a loveless marriage with no way to get out.

There was also another niggling issue, which Damon hated even contemplating, because in some parts, their marriage did have impact on him. Should Stefan continue his ways relating to trying to conceive a child, Damon himself may have to be forced to find another wife. He loathed the idea, because he know knew his own marriage would be no better. Of course he wouldn't be violent, be he would not be the loving husband he wanted to be if he did want to remarry. This he knew for certain because there was only one woman who he would ever consider, and that was Elena. The problem was she was one woman he would never be able to have. Although, should his brother continue drinking the way he was, then that might very well change.

Damon knew if he was Elena's husband, she'd never experience hatred or violence again. He'd never force himself on her sexually, and he'd always put her pleasure first as he had with Katherine. Elena wasn't the devious type, and he knew he would be able to trust her, as long as she trusted him. Although this was his own little fantasy, he knew certain aspects met reality. He and Elena were growing closer by the day, and he knew she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. Fortunately, his brother had not picked up on this. They were always careful when they were around Stefan not to arouse any suspicions, and fortunately his brother wasn't being particularly observant as of late. But when they were alone, they flirted with each other, ever so slightly. Unfortunately, in all likelihood, flirting was all it would ever amount to. However, Damon was never that lucky with women. Hindsight of his relationship with Katherine was proof of that.

As Elena settled into life in Mystic Falls, she began to feel at home. Stefan was still drinking but he wasn't beating her as often, maybe once a week, which she managed to cover up from everyone. She suspected Damon and Bonnie knew what Stefan was doing, but they were powerless to help. Stefan was an extremely popular member of the community, and it appeared he always had been this way. The townsfolk gravitated towards him and adored him, which seemed to inflate his ego enough to leave Elena to her own devices, unless she was needed for appearances sake.

When they had been aware of the beatings, Bonnie had brought Elena the salve for her bruises and some willow bark for the pain. What nobody could truly help with was when Stefan forced himself on her. Now she knew it was a lie, she took care to notice what he was, or wasn't doing, and it was clear he was punishing her for something, as this was nothing like how Bonnie described making love. At first Elena had tried to imagine Damon, but she couldn't. It made it worse because she knew Damon would never treat her like Stefan did. Instead she thought of the gardens, most especially the maze, and trying to remember the route Damon took to get them out. She wanted to tackle it again one day, but to try and find her way out without the help of Damon and Old Sam.

Her life had changed somewhat over the past five weeks. Damon had introduced her to Eliza Young, the grieving widow of the previous Pastor, who was a friend of Damon's. Despite her grief, she educated Elena on what to expect from the townsfolk regarding her duties as the Pastor's wife. The only task which daunted Elena was the baking of bread for the poor children, something her and her husband had been passionate about, although Elena did notice this compassion did not extend to the children of ex slaves. When Elena questioned Eliza, she was told they attended their own church and they were well provided for there.

At first Elena didn't believe her, however when she looked into the matter, she discovered Damon was supplying the church for the ex slaves and their children with additional supplies. Elena was surprised by this, although she knew she shouldn't be. It was clear Damon was not of devout faith. He attended church, merely out of obligation and to show the correct behavior to the townsfolk. They prayed before supper, but Elena suspected that was for hers and Stefan's benefit more than his own. Yet, despite all of this, Damon was a truly good man, who was kind and generous. Elena supposed she never expected the owner of a plantation, with the reputation Stefan had given of his brother, to be so kind.

The townsfolk had initially treat Elena with suspicion, she was a northerner and a city girl. Eliza warned her they would seem cold at first, because she wasn't one of their own, even though she'd married into a founding family. But once she was seen to be a good, upstanding woman, who supported and loved her husband, then she would soon be made welcome. This meant Elena had to constantly put an act on as the ever devoted wife, to who, in truth, she hated. Fortunately her acting skills were sufficient and she outwardly appeared to be exactly what the people of Mystic Falls would come to expect of a woman of her standing. Whenever she and Stefan were out together in public, he would be affectionate, kind and sweet. But that was when he was most likely to be cruel to her. Elena knew he despised her, although she could not imagine what for.

Elena had filled her time with things other than the duties of a Pastor's wife. She had new gowns made on the behest of Damon. At first they had been for any town events, and one was due in two weeks time, which was a ball hosted by George Lockwood, another plantation owner and founding family. He had also insist she have clothes made specially for riding, and day wear as her own gowns were more suited to the climes of Chicago than the summer heat of Mystic Falls. He had ensured they were the height of fashion and no expense was spared.

Stefan had been dead set against this from the start and had even ruined one of the gowns. When Bonnie noticed the torn gown, she immediately told Damon, which resulted in a huge argument between the brothers and a beating from Stefan. On the other hand, Stefan had been fine with the clothes suitable for riding. After she and Stefan had tea one day with Eliza, it was agreed riding was an absolutely essential skill Elena must be skilled in. there would be times where she may have to urgently visit a member of the congregation on behalf of Stefan until he arrived. Elena's presence was an assurance that Stefan would soon arrive. For that a carriage was too slow and it wasn't always practical to call on a driver if they only held a small amount of staff.

Reluctantly, Stefan had agreed for Damon to teach Elena to ride. He'd have preferred Eliza to do it, but she was still wrapped up in grief over the death of her husband, and still had a young family to look after. Stefan himself wouldn't have the time as he was too busy with church business, therefore this left only Damon as an alternative.

At first, Damon had been reluctant to let Elena ride Onyx. He was large and temperamental, also he wasn't used to a side saddle. However he was even more temperamental when he saw her on another horse. He was acting like a lover scorned, and it took her some time and an apple to reassure him he was her favorite. After that she only rode him. Surprisingly, he took to side saddle like a duck to water, and was a perfect gentleman whenever Elena was on his back. This led to the stable hands believing him to have calmed down. However, his good behavior was reserved only for Elena and Damon, who was tasked with taking care of the two females in Onyx life, Matilda and Elena. This did not mean Damon was allowed to ride him. As soon as he tried to mount, the horse reared and Damon was flat on the floor with Elena laughing at him, and an Onyx who looked thoroughly pleased with himself.

That was when Damon decided to give Onyx to Elena for her birthday, which was in four weeks time. The horse was of no use to anyone else, and he could still stay at the Salvatore plantation stables, as the house where Stefan and Elena were going to live, was within the grounds and they were the closest stables.

That was why Elena was ready and waiting for Damon to bring out Matilda and Onyx. She looked forward to her lessons, which were usually around three times a week. It was the only time she and Damon could be alone together, where she could pretend it was just them. A world where she wasn't wed to Stefan, but instead was married to Damon. It was all a dream, as far as she was aware, he saw her as a little sister who needed protecting. They had shared the moment in the maze, and there were times when she thought Damon was flirting with her, but his stance was always different around Stefan, and she'd noticed Damon had a tendency to be slightly flirtatious with all of the ladies.

Another reason Elena didn't think Damon saw her in any other way than sisterly was a comment which had been made the previous day by Eliza Young. She told Elena that the town gossip was Damon was potentially looking to marry once more, and that he might have his eye on Caroline Forbes. Elena had never met Caroline, however from what she could gather, the girl was extremely beautiful and funny, however she could be extremely talkative. As Elena hadn't heard this from Stefan or Damon, she questioned Eliza's source, the older woman did admit it Caroline herself who had told her, and there could be no more reliable source than from the horses mouth.

Therefore the previous night, Elena had retired to bed early and cried herself to sleep. She had no idea why she felt this way about a man whom she could never have, but he had looked after her and protected her when she was at her most vulnerable. If he married this Caroline girl, then he would forget about her and leave her to the hands of Stefan. That was what Elena kept telling herself, because she knew falling in love with another man while married was not only a sin, but unacceptable behavior from a lady of her social standing in the community.

Once Elena had mounted Onyx and Damon likewise had mounted Matilda, Elena decided to ask what the nature of their lesson was. Over the course of the last four weeks since Stefan had agreed to let Damon teach her, Elena had become a fairly decent rider. She wasn't ready for galloping, as she was still a little nervous about Onyx height, and what would happen if she fell, however she was confident enough to trot at a fairly decent pace, almost at a canter. Although still a little nervous about the speed, she knew that lesson would be coming soon.

"Where are we going today?" Elena asked.

"There's a little spot about four miles from here which has the most amazing views." he smiled.

"Four miles?" Elena looked at Damon wide eyed. She'd never ridden that far in one lesson, she just hoped she wouldn't over tire herself.

"Don't worry, I've brought a picnic basket." Damon assured her. "We can rest there for a while before coming back if you wish." he said.

"I think that I should be able to do that." Elena nodded.

"Some of the rides you may have to make out to the townsfolk will be a lot longer than four miles." he warned her. "Old Mack and his wife Betty, they live about ten miles from here." Damon said. "You need to build up your stamina." he said.

"I'm believe you will make sure I can ride that far before you are done with me." Elena laughed as Damon turned Matilda and they headed off into the fields.

About an hour and a half later they crossed a small stream before beginning to climb a large, although not too steep hill, which Elena could see, led up to some rocks. Their ride had taken quite a while as Damon had insisted they walk at a slow pace to ensure Elena did not tire herself out too much. He did warn he might raise the pace to a canter over a couple of fields on the way back which was why he didn't want to tire her.

Ten minutes later they reached the top and Damon helped Elena dismount. This was always the favorite part of their long rides as she got to feel his hands around her waist. She remembered the sensation Bonnie had told her about, and realized this was what she was experiencing every time he helped her down. Elena knew she would have to enjoy it while it lasted, once Damon was married, their rides together would probably stop.

Once she'd gotten down, Damon turned Elena around so she was facing away from him and put his hands over her eyes. It was only then could Elena hear a sound like that of water.

"What are you doing?" Elena cried.

"It is a surprise." Damon laughed. "Now turn to your left." he told her while still holding his hands over her eyes. Once she'd turned left she waited for her next instructions. "I want you to walk forward by ten paces." he told her. Elena walked forward and counted to nine when Damon told her to stop.

"You said ten paces." Elena complained.

"They were longer strides than I expected." Damon chuckled. "No close your eyes." he told her, which she did, as he removed his hands from her eyes. "You can open them now." he whispered into her ear, sending shivers down her spine.

When Elena opened her eyes she took a look at her surrounding and was stunned. Elena had never seen anywhere so beautiful in her life. She was looking down at a waterfall pouring over the rocks into a pool, which wasn't far down. There were various wild flowers which she'd never seen before, overall the place took her breath away.

"Where is this place?" Elena asked excitedly, restraining the urge to wrap her arms around Damon's neck to thank him.

"It is where I used to come as a child." Damon said awkwardly. "I would hide out here when my father was angry with me." he told her. "Obviously running away wasn't the wisest thing to do, father was usually even more angry when I did it." he looked down. "But seeing the beauty of this place always made it worth it."

"I can imagine." Elena smiled. "It is so...restful." she said.

"I've never shown this place to anyone else." Damon told her, which prompted Elena to turn and look at him in surprise.

"Why ever not?" Elena frowned.

"It is my sanctuary Elena." Damon told her. "I never wanted to share it with anyone before." he admitted.

Elena blushed at this comment. He'd never even shown Katherine, yet he felt her worthy of seeing it. She knew this was a secret place and he was trusting her to keep his little secret. Elena had never felt so special in her entire life.

"I promise I won't tell." she told him.

"Good." Damon grinned as he grabbed her hand. "Now let me show you something. Just be careful, it can get a little rocky around her, and I know how clumsy you can be." he sighed as Elena lowered her eyes. Part of her wished she could outright tell Damon what Stefan was doing, but she knew he could not be of any help to her. Unless Damon could find her a way out of her marriage, while he was still in her life, he was as helpless as she was.

Elena followed Damon up a small natural path until she saw what at first she thought was a bush, albeit one that looked slightly out of place. However when she looked more carefully, she could see a little hut surrounded by the bush. Elena looked at Damon and frowned with confusion.

"Took three years to build." Damon told her proudly. "I did it all myself. I used to steal wood and nails. Then when it was finished I planted this bush to prevent anyone from finding it." he said. "Unfortunately I didn't take into consideration how long it would take for the bush to grow to be big enough to cover the hut." he laughed, which prompted Elena to laugh with him.

"Why did you need a hut?" Elena asked.

"So I had somewhere to sleep if I ran away overnight." he told her. "Come inside." he gestured for her to enter.

Fortunately Damon had built the hut big enough for them to be able to stand up, but only just. Inside there was a straw mattress on the floor with a woolen blanket. She saw a number of candles, although they were probably still fit to be used. In fact Elena got the impression this place was still occasionally occupied.

"How often do you stay here now?" Elena asked.

"After Katherine died, it was a couple of times a week." Damon told her. "The last time I stayed here was about three days before you arrived in Mystic Falls." he said. "I was getting worked up about seeing Stefan again, and I just wanted the peace and calm of this place. The waterfall helps me sleep." he shrugged.

How come you haven't stayed ever since?" Elena asked.

"I can't." Damon shook his head. "The thought of being..." he stopped, causing Elena to frown.

"What is it?" Elena asked, sounding worried.

Damon took a deep breath and Elena knew whatever he was going to say was terrifying him. Maybe he was going to tell her about his impending marriage to Caroline Forbes.

"The thought of being away from you." he told as he turned his back to her. "I know I shouldn't, you are married to my brother. But I cannot help the way I feel about you." he told her, turning back to face her.

"How do you feel?" Elena asked, her heart jumping for joy.

"I'm in love with you." Damon admitted.

Elena was stunned by Damon's forwardness. Stefan had never made such a romantic declaration when they were courting. It was the most beautiful moment of her life, until the name Caroline Forbes popped into her head.

"What about Caroline?" Elena asked.

Damon looked confused. "Caroline?" he asked. "What about her?"

"I thought you were looking to marry her." Elena replied.

"Who told you that?" Damon looked completely stunned by this information. "I am certainly not aware of any proposed or planned marriage between Caroline and myself." he said.

"Eliza mentioned it yesterday." Elena told him. "Apparently it is the town gossip. Caroline herself told her." she said as Damon rolled his eyes.

"Caroline Forbes has had a 'thing' for me since Katherine died." he told her. "She is unwed and dearly wants me to marry her. I on the other hand do not wish to give her the time of day." he assured her..

"Then why is she under the assumption that you want to marry her?" Elena asked as Damon initially frowned before shaking his head in frustration.

"The other day I went to see Bill Forbes, the town Sheriff and Caroline's father." Damon explained. "I wished to discuss a personal legal matter which was related to my own marriage to Katherine. Caroline was there at the time and must have been listening in on our conversation and only heard a small part of it." he said. "If she'd have listened to all of it, she would have realized it had nothing to do with her.

Elena sighed a sigh of relief, she didn't care about her own marriage, as long as Damon was close, knowing he loved her, was enough for her to be satisfied.

"You sound pleased." Damon smiled.

"I am." Elena nodded.

"Why?" Damon added, suddenly looking slightly shy.

Elena decided now was the time to admit to how she felt. "I believe I have feelings for you too." she told him. "Although I am unsure what they are. I thought I loved Stefan, but I loved the idea of being married to Stefan." she said.

"But now you really know him, that has changed." Damon said as Elena looked up to him and nodded sadly.

Damon took Elena's gloved hand and began to stroke it. "I wish we could have met under different circumstances." he said. "I would do anything for you to be my wife." he sighed.

"I wish that were the case too." Elena looked up at Damon sadly. However their honesty had emboldened Elena, she suspected he would not be offended if she acted a little unconventional, as their feelings for one another were not exactly conventional.

Elena removed her glove and lifted her hand, she placed it on Damon's cheek and stroked it. Damon closed his eyes in bliss, never wanting the moment to stop. When he opened them once more, Elena was smiling, however her eyes were fixed on his lips. Damon lowered his forehead to hers and sighed.

"What I would do just to take one kiss from you right now." he whispered.

Elena's heart began to thump wildly, something was happening inside her, but she couldn't explain it. She had absolutely no resistance to him, despite him being her husband's brother.

"If it is just one, I think I can grant wish." Elena whispered back nervously. "One kiss can't hurt can it?" she asked, her eyes never staring from Damon's lips. "That wouldn't be a sin, people kiss all of the time, right?" she asked.

"Right." Damon nodded as he lowered his lips to hers.

Damon softly brushed his lips up against Elena's, as trying to determine whether she really did want to kiss him. The answer was a resounding yes. She knew she shouldn't, but all logic had flown from her brain and her body's natural instincts towards Damon were taking over. To confirm her desire, she inched her body closer to him and stroked his cheek. Damon wrapped one arm around Elena's waist and pulled her in tight against his body. He deepened the kiss by parting his lips. As Elena had never been kissed this way before, she followed his lead.

Damon took Elena parting her lips for him as an invitation to further the kiss. His tongue made a tentative, exploratory sweep, tasting her for the first time. She reminded him of cherries, which happened to be his favorite. He suspected she had never been kissed like this before as she seemed unsure whether to use her tongue, therefore Damon parted his lips a little more, in a gesture to invite her in. Damon almost wept at her innocence, feeling like the big bad wolf by stealing it from her. At the same time, he felt a sense of gratitude in being the one to guide her to the light of what love, desire and an all consuming passion, felt like when combined. He just hoped his kiss conveyed this message to her.

Elena had never experienced anything so beautiful and intimate at the same time. When he parted his lips even further, Elena knew he was inviting her to explore him. She'd never done anything like this before, therefore she hoped her body would take over from her brain just like the feelings she was currently experiencing. Slowly she allowed her tongue on a path of discovery. Elena noticed he tasted of mint, as she explored his mouth. The warmth, taste and feel of him was intoxicating. She wrapped one arm around his neck, while the other continued to stroke the soft skin of his face.

For the first time in her life, Elena truly understood what desire really was. When Bonnie had told her she wanted to rip Enzo's clothes off, Elena had been confused as to what would make Bonnie feel like that. Now that the heat was traveling through her body and concentrating itself into her heart and between her legs, she fully understood exactly what her handmaiden had meant, because that was exactly what she wanted to do with Damon.

That thought jolted Elena to reality and she suddenly pulled away and clapped her hand over her mouth with shock. Damon frowned with disappointment and confusion as to why they'd stopped.

"Oh my goodness." Elena cried. "What have we done." she said as she pulled out of Damon's embrace and ran out of the hut, leaving Damon stood there, alone and confused.

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They are always appreciated.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **A slightly shorter chapter, but I ended it at the best cut off point.**

Elena ran out of the in a state of panic. Her body had been reacting to Damon in unspeakable ways, feeling things she'd never previously felt in her life. She thought a kiss would not hurt too much, but pulling away hurt more than she could ever imagine, which made the situation even more difficult. Clearly Elena's feelings for Damon were far stronger than she had ever considered. To compound matters, she'd had this unwitting desire to, as Bonnie put it, rip Damon's clothes off. Elena knew she was a bad woman who had sinned in the sight of god, and for once, would deserve whatever punishment Stefan would give her.

Damon quickly followed Elena out of the hut and caught up with her. She was stood with her back towards him facing the waterfall. He couldn't tell if she were crying or not, but he needed to resolve the problems immediately. Whatever it was between them was not going to go away, no matter how much one of them willed it. They were inexplicably drawn together, and Damon was resolved to the fact that, even if it took years, they were meant to be together, and he was prepared to play the long game for her. What he already felt for Elena, dwarfed any feeling he had ever had for Katherine, even when they were first married.

"Elena." Damon called out softly, not wanting to scare her.

Elena turned to face Damon, her heart stammering from fear of her feelings for him, and desire to just see his face again.

"We shouldn't have done that." she whispered. "It was wrong. I am a married woman." she cast her eyes down.

"Married to a man who never intended to marry you in the first place." Damon insisted as Elena's eyes flew open with fear.

"What makes you say that?" she asked nervously.

"That was what he said to you wasn't it?" Damon asked, slowly edging his way towards her, as if she were a frightened horse.

Elena nodded. "How do you know." she asked in a small voice.

"I overheard it all." Damon admitted, casting his eyes down. It was time to open up to telling Elena he knew how Stefan was treating her. "I mean everything." his eyes flashed to hers. "You do know what he is doing to you is wrong."

"It is what a bad woman should expect." Elena raised her head and looked to the skies.

"You are not a bad woman." Damon pleaded.

"So what was that?" Elena asked, pointing towards the hut. "What we did just now. How was that not a bad thing?" she asked.

"Under most circumstances, I would never condone loving anyone other than whom you are wed to." Damon told her. "I have been married and I know that. But I thought I had a real marriage with a woman who loved me, not a sham of a marriage with a woman in love with someone else, which what it really was. Your marriage is a lie Elena, you know it and I know it. Stefan even admitted to it." he said. "He claims to be a man of god, but he was unfaithful to you, he was using you for goodness knows what. And trust me, I would like to know exactly what it is. He hurts you, emotionally and physically. He is even blaming you for not producing an heir when he knows he is the one who is trying to avoid getting you with child. Instead he forces himself onto you as a punishment and not for what it should be about, which is when two people love each other like we do." he stopped as he realized he was starting to get angry with Stefan.

"So you don't think what we did was wrong?" Elena asked.

"I guess it depends on how you view your marriage." Damon admitted. "If you love Stefan, then yes it was. If you don't then no, I don't think it is. Do you believe Stefan used you?" he asked.

Elena took a deep breath. It was a question she'd asked herself over and over again, but had struggled to answer because she didn't dare admit it to herself. However it was one thing to admit her fears to herself, but confessing to someone else was a totally different matter. But for some reason, Elena felt she couldn't lie to Damon, not about something this important.

"I don't love him anymore." Elena admitted. "I suppose I didn't love him in the first place. I felt affection towards him. But I guess the pressure to marry a handsome, charming man, who had a good name, and also who happened to be a minister was too much. My father was desperate for the match." she shrugged. "I thought I loved him, but now I know better." she said sadly. "I don't think he has ever loved me. I think I was convenient and again from a respectable family. On paper we were a perfect match." tears welled up in her eyes as she finally admitted her fears.

"A man who truly loves you wouldn't hurt you." Damon told her. "I learned that the hard way when I used to hear my father beating my mother when I was a child." he said. "My father would say he loved my mother, but he didn't. She was just there to produce an heir. Nothing more."

"But I have betrayed my wedding vows." Elena insisted. "Regardless of why we married, that is a sin in the eyes of god." she said.

"Look Elena, I believe the only reason you are married to Stefan is because Katherine is dead." Damon told her. "You know yourself, god often moves in mysterious ways, and I believe we were fated to be together. And this may have been the only option god had to make that happen. Otherwise we would never have met." he said, a statement he truly believed in. Maybe not a move by gods own hand, as Damon was skeptical about religion. However he did believe in fate, which was why he was sure he and Elena was meant to be together. However, Elena needed to question his answer.

"But how can we be fated to be together if we can never marry?" Elena asked.

"You can already petition for a divorce." Damon told her. "Although right now it would be extremely frowned upon as sadly many men do treat their wives with the contempt and disregard in which Stefan treats you." he continued. "However, I have suspicions regarding Stefan which may give you grounds for a more valid divorce. One where people would find it more acceptable. But we would have to wait a while." he admitted.

"How?" Elena frowned.

Damon walked up to her and took her hands in his. "Right now, I don't want you to concern yourself with this. Although I may need your assistance in the future." he said. "For the time being, all I will say it I am trying to find out why he said you weren't supposed to be married. I want to know what his plans were, and whether they were nefarious in nature." he said.

"Why would you think that?" Elena frowned.

Damon took a deep breath, this was a hard thing for him to admit, but it was time someone heard what he had to say. "When Katherine died, there were letters from Stefan." he told her. "Some of the contents were not pleasant to read. But thinking back, there were some comments in the letters which sounded strange. I didn't understand them at the time, and unfortunately I burned all of the letters." his sighed. "But I don't think I had all of the letters." Damon told her. "Right now I am looking into that."

"You think there are more?" Elena frowned and Damon nodded.

"I can't be certain." he sighed. "But I have to look." he said.

"Is that why you went to see Sheriff Forbes?" Elena asked.

Once again Damon nodded. "I need to produce evidence first." he said. "I don't want to open a case against my brother until I have proof. Nobody would believe it." he lowered his eyes.

"Would he be going to jail? I mean you did got to see the Sheriff." Elena asked, Damon nodded his head.

"I believe most of it was Katherine's doing and Stefan got swept up in it." he said. "If Stefan does go to jail, you would have a legitimate reason to divorce him. And even if the community did not like it, they would not be able to say anything as I am too powerful in this town." he assured her.

Elena took a deep breath. "I want to believe you." she said. "But what if you are wrong?" she asked.

"I'm not." Damon told her confidently. "I just need more proof." he said. "But do not concern yourself over that small detail." he said, kissing her knuckles. "That is for me to work on." he added, pleased she didn't flinch at him kissing her knuckles.

"So what do we do in the meantime?" Elena asked.

"I say we make the most of our time alone." Damon smiled. "We can have our picnic, and pretend it is just you and me, because I promise you, when the time is right, that is how it will be. You and me against the world, and I will not care who tries to stop us!" he said defiantly.

"And what if I am with child beforehand?" Elena asked.

"Then I will treat the child as my own." Damon assured her.

"I don't mean with Stefan's child." Elena lowered her eyes and blushed.

"Oh!" Damon replied looking shocked. "I was unsure whether you would want to go down that path before we were to wed ourselves." he said.

"You do not wish to?" Elena asked.

"I very much wish to." Damon smiled. "I just wasn't sure whether you would want that." he said.

"Maybe." Elena admitted, remembering the sensations she got from just kissing Damon. From what Bonnie had described, that way only the beginning as making love was the most beautiful thing in the world. Even better than chocolate, although Elena had reservations as to whether it was possible for that to be the case as she loved chocolate.

They settled down to their picnic and continued to talk about the topics which were currently important to the town. Apparently the local tavern had been having trouble with some out of town riffraff. Once they had finished, Damon took Elena's hand and helped her to her feet. He walked her over to the look at the waterfall and stood behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist. He rested his chin in the crook of her neck and pressed his face up against hers.

"When we are here." Damon started, his voice practically a whisper. "It is just you and me. And until the time comes when we can make it legally binding, for all intents and purposes, while we are here, at this spot, we can be man and wife." he suggested. "My little hut will be our home, until we can live in the plantation house. This here, is our garden. What do you say?" he asked.

Elena smiled. "Well Mr Salvatore, I happen to believe you are a hopeless romantic."

"That I am." Damon agreed.

"But what would we do? The hut is small, how would we pass the time." she asked flirtatiously.

"Well..." Damon started. "Books, we could read to each other." he suggested.

"And?" Elena asked.

"We can talk, just as we were just now." Damon offered.

"Go on." Elena said.

"Kiss, sing, play music, if you want." Damon suggested. "It'll just be our little world, for a short time every other day." he said, a twinge of sadness in his voice. "But it can make up for all the badness we have to live with." he added.

Elena frowned. "How would we have music?" she asked.

"I also play the violin." Damon smirked. "I could bring my old fiddle up here. Nobody would know it is missing."

"I think I would like that." Elena smiled.

"So would I." Damon agreed with a huge grin on his face.

"But you never answered my question. What if I am with child, and the baby is yours?" she frowned.

"Pretend the baby is Stefan's." Damon sighed. "We would have no other choice." he said.

"Wouldn't he know?" Elena asked. "He tries to make sure I am not with child." she told him.

"Even the way Stefan tries to prevent you from being with child is not a guarantee." Damon told her. "Ask Bonnie." he winked. "Accidents do happen." he said.

"And as long as we both completely deny everything, he can't prove the baby isn't his." Elena agreed. "But lets hope it doesn't come to that. If we are lucky, we might be able to find out what he was up to." Elena thought for a minute. "Stefan has letters." she said. "He kept them. I saw a few, but he caught me before I could read many. He beat me hard that day." she told him.

"I wish I could tell you I could stop him, but who would believe me?" he asked. "Stefan is a Pastor, his word is almost as good as the law around here. I always had a the bad reputation as a child, even though much of it was to protect Stefan from father." he said. "I don't believe in hurting children, but maybe if Stefan had been made accountable for his own actions, then he may have turned out differently. Covering up for him may not have been the smartest thing for me to do. But I had to protect him, I couldn't let him get hurt." he said.

"That is very noble of you." Elena sighed with contentment as Damon nibbled her ear, causing her to giggle.

"I love hearing you laugh." Damon chuckled. "I don't hear it often enough. That is something I intend to change." he said when suddenly he stopped and sniffed the air. "Do you smell something?" Damon frowned.

"Like what?" Elena asked.

"Smoke." Damon replied as he continued to sniff the air.

Elena held her nose up and took in a deep breath, and indeed she could also smell smoke. "Yes I can." she frowned. "Where do you think it is coming from?" she asked.

"There is nothing east or west from here for about twenty miles." Damon told her. "To the north is the Lockwood plantation and Mystic Falls. To the south is our house, the servants quarters and the stables." he said as he licked his finger and raised it in the air. "It's coming from my plantation." he said, his voice taking on a sense of panic. "We need to return as quickly as possible." he said as they quickly gathered up the picnic basket and blanket. "Do you think you can canter?" he asked.

"I can probably make it as far as the tree next to the ridge." Elena told him as he helped her mount Onyx. "I know my own way back from there. Once we get to the tree, just go as fast as you can." she said.

"Are you sure?" Damon asked as he climbed on Matilda's back.

"Onyx will look after me." she assured Damon. "Wont you boy?" she asked as Onyx twitched his ears as if he were promising he would take care of her. Elena quickly patted him on the head in appreciation as they set off.

"He better." Damon warned Onyx. "Otherwise Matilda will not be next to you tonight." he said, to which both Matilda and Onyx huffed as they set off.

Ten minutes later they reached the tree next to the ridge. By this point they could see down into the valley, where plumes of smoke rose above what looked to be the stables.

"Oh my goodness." Elena cried. "Would there be any horses in there?" she asked in a panicked voice.

"No." Damon shook his head. "they turned them out just as we left, thank goodness." he sighed. "Who in their right mind would do such a thing." he frowned.

"I hope there was nobody in there." Elena said in a worried voice.

"The only person usually around there at this time is Bob Marshall. Head of the stables." Damon told her. "Elena, I have to go." he said.

"Go on." Elena urged him. "I'll be fine. Just be careful and don't do anything stupid like trying to get inside." she insisted.

"Kiss me first." Damon said as he leaned over."

Elena looked around to make sure there was nobody about as she leaned towards Damon who kissed her almost chastely on the lips. "Now go!" Elena told him.

"Yes ma'am." Damon called out as he quickly set off, galloping towards the burning stables.

Elena followed at a much slower pace. She was still a novice and she would be an idiot risking herself as Damon would never forgive himself if anything happened to her. As she and Onyx walked back, she reflected on their time at the waterfall. Up until the moment they realized something was wrong, it had been perfect. Elena knew Damon was powerless to stop Stefan from hurting her. He'd already put water in the whiskey to calm him down, which had somewhat worked, although Stefan was now drinking more instead. Elena wondered if Stefan knew his brother suspected, which was another reason why he'd calmed down.

All the time she had been contemplating this so she could keep her mind off what was happening at the stables. She knew it was selfish of her, but Elena hoped Damon wouldn't rush inside to try and save anyone and get killed himself. She wouldn't be able to bear the loss of the man she was beginning to believe she was her destiny and maybe soulmate.

Sadly she could not ignore what was going on for long as she approached the yard. Elena remained on Onyx as she watched from a little way back, making sure she didn't get in the way.

Men were lines up with buckets of water, passing them to one another, the final man at the end of the line throwing it on the fire to try and put it out. Six lines in all were trying with earnest, but the fire did not seem to wish to abate. Elena looked around for Damon, but initially struggled to spot him with all of the smoke, which was now thick and black. Eventually she saw him in one of the lines, passing water along as if he were one of the hired hands and not the owner.

Suddenly Elena began to cough with the amount of smoke.

"You need to get down Mrs Salvatore." one of the young stable lads said as he ran over with a small stool. "I can get Onyx to the other stables, Matilda is already there." he told her.

"I'll take him." she said once she was on the ground. "He'll feel safer with me." Elena insisted.

The stable lad shifted around slightly. "Sir wanted me to take him." he said shyly.

"Well Mr Salvatore will have to take the matter up with me personally." Elena replied, feeling confident she could talk reasonably to Damon about this. "I won't let him get angry with you." she said, although she knew Damon wouldn't hurt him, Elena knew her decision should not affect the boy's role.

"Fine Mrs Salvatore." the boy sighed as he led them to the other, smaller stables, where Matilda was waiting patiently for Onyx. Elena handed him over to the stable lad before saying her goodbyes to the horses.

Elena got back to the house, where she asked Bonnie to help her change into something which did not smell of smoke. Bonnie was beside herself with worry as not only was Bob Marshall missing, but his lady friend, the widow Mrs Nancy Green. She had gone to visit Bob at the stables that morning, just after lunch. Elena knew they would often meet as she would bring him some fresh baked bread. Usually she would arrive a little earlier, but the original plan was for Damon and Elena not to ride out until one as Damon had a meeting with the bank. However the meeting had only taken an hour, so instead they'd ridden out two hours earlier than their usual time and had a picnic instead. That was when it occurred to Elena that had they have been at the stables around the time when they were meant to be there, it could have been her and Damon stuck in the burning building, not Bob Marshall and Mrs Green. Elena dismissed the thought as absurd, however it did not stop a shiver running down her spine at the thought.

Suddenly Damon entered the parlor looking exhausted, hot, sweaty and black from the soot and smoke. Elena desperately wanted to run up to him and hug him, but that was not an option. His eyes were red, but Elena wasn't sure whether it was from crying or smoke.

Damon looked at her sadly. "The fire is almost out." he told her. "The stables are gone. Bob and Nancy are missing, but we think they were inside. Screaming and coughing was heard at first, but it soon died down." he gulped as Elena could see he was struggling to hold back the tears. "Ron the groom saw two men running away just after the fire started. "We think it was done on purpose." he sighed. "I'm going to take a bath." he said, sounding exhausted as he momentarily closed his eyes and shook his head before leaving Elena and Bonnie in the parlor looking at each other in shock.

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews so far. I love hearing from readers, and I endeavor to reply to all reviews. So far, everyone has been really positive about this story and it is really inspiring me to move forward with it. It also helps me enjoy the process of writing too, because I know I'm giving enjoyment to others.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **I would like to thank Leeloo87 for pointing out a major editing error in the last chapter, which has now been rectified. Fortunately it was not a spoiler.**

 **I hope you all enjoy it.**

Stefan returned from his visit to the church in Grove Hill, where he'd spent the day meeting the minister and congregation. He seemed surprised by the long faces of Bonnie and Elena, who were both in the parlor, waiting for any more news regarding Bob and Nancy. The fire was almost out, which was why Damon had come for a bath, and to clean up, ready to see Sheriff Forbes, who would soon be there to talk to him.

"What has happened?" Stefan frowned.

Elena swallowed. "The stables were set alight." she explained. "The fire has only just been put out, although some parts may still be smoldering." she said. "I've asked the kitchen to provide refreshments for those who helped tackle the blaze." she added.

"Where is Damon?" Stefan asked.

"He is upstairs, taking a bath." Elena told him. "He has just spent the last hour and a half putting the fire out with the rest of the men." she said.

"Was anyone inside the stables?" Stefan asked, his voice full of concern as Elena nodded.

"We think Bob Marshall and Nancy Green." Elena said as Stefan sat down and put his head in his hands. "How can this have happened." he cried.

"Rumors are abound, stating two men were seen running from the stables just before the fire started." Elena said.

"And the area reeked of kerosene." Damon added as he arrived from his bath with his hair still wet. He looked so handsome in that moment, he almost took Elena's breath away, however she had to pretend there was nothing between them.

"Brother." Stefan greeted Damon.

"Brother." Damon nodded back before turning to Elena and Bonnie. "Any news?" he asked.

"Bob and Nancy are still missing." Elena told him. "Her son says she's never out this late." she said. "And Bob hasn't returned to his home." she added.

"So unless they have run away together, we have to assume the coughs and screams that were heard inside belonged to them." Damon sighed, as the doorbell rang.

"That will probably be Sheriff Forbes." Bonnie said. "Would you like me to get the door?" she asked Damon.

"Please Bonnie." Damon smiled, although it was obvious he was tired and worried.

"I have asked the kitchens to provide refreshments for those who have helped put out the fire." Elena told Damon.

For the first time since Damon walked downstairs, he smiled a genuine smile. "Thank you sister. That was very thoughtful of you." he said as Stefan rolled his eyes at the comment.

Right at that moment, a man stepped into the room, followed by Bonnie. Elena guessed this must be the Sheriff who Damon had earlier mentioned. He was a stern looking man, who Elena guessed was probably in his late forties, maybe slightly older. He looked troubled, as he walked over to Damon and shook his hand.

"Sheriff Forbes." Damon greeted him without a smile.

"Mr Salvatore." Sheriff Forbes, nodded to everyone around the room. "Please call me Bill." he said.

"And please call me Damon." Damon replied courteously. "As you already know, this is my brother Stefan." he gestured to Stefan who stood up and shook the Sheriff's hand.

"Pastor." Bill nodded.

"Sheriff." Stefan replied, clearly deciding it was better to remain on an occupational name basis.

"And this is my brother's wife. Elena Salvatore." Damon gestured to Elena.

Bill walked over to Elena and bowed his head as Elena held out her hand. "Mrs Salvatore. It is a pleasure." he said as he greeted her, kissing the back of her gloved hand.

"Sheriff." Elena curtsied, and smiled a small smile.

"Now we have the introductions out of the way, who would you like to speak to first?" Damon asked.

"I will speak to you if you wish." Bill nodded.

"I will of every possible assistance." Damon said. "Would you like to speak to us individually in the study?" he asked.

"That would be perfect." Bill agreed.

"Would you like me to accompany my wife?" Stefan asked.

"That is not necessary." Bill replied. "I am sure she is quite capable of speaking for herself." he said, before he and Damon turned around and left, leaving Elena, Stefan and Bonnie alone together.

Stefan glared at Bonnie who scuttled out of the room, leaving Elena alone with Stefan.

"Where were you when the fire happened." Stefan asked in a low voice.

"Out riding as we planned." Elena replied. "Although we did set off earlier than expected. Damon's meeting was cut short, so we chose for me to try a longer ride and a canter. Damon said some of the congregation live a fair distance, so I need to build up my stamina and speed." she explained.

"Hmm." Stefan said. "So how did you find out about the fire?" he asked.

"We were downwind of the fire and could smell it." Elena told him. "We got back as soon as we could." she added, hoping her voice didn't betray the nervousness she felt inside regarding omitting a major detail about their ride.

"And the horses?" Stefan asked.

"I hear they are all fine." Elena said. "Bob had already turned them out and was with Nancy." she said. "They're using the other stables for the time being. Pluto is fine." she assured him about his own horse. Stefan had taken a carriage to Grove Hill instead of riding there as he'd stated that morning, a carriage would be better if there were rain later.

After that, Stefan fell silent, and Elena had no desire to speak to him if she could help it. Instead she sat and waited for either more news, or Damon to return. The latter was the first to occur.

"Stefan. Bill would like to see you next." Damon told Stefan.

After Stefan had left Damon turned to Elena and they held each other for a moment. Damon placed a chaste kiss upon Elena's head, before they broke apart.

"We don't have much time." Damon told her. "I told the Sheriff we were up at MacPherson's ridge." he said. "You know the place where we usually go?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "Why?" she frowned.

"Because I don't want our secret hideout being found." he whispered.

"I'll remember." Elena smiled. "At least I can describe it." she said.

"It is also downwind of the fire, but it would have taken longer to notice it as we are usually in the sheltered spot." Damon said. "I told Bill we had a picnic."

"I'll keep that in mind." Elena nodded, before deciding to ask about the issue with the stable lad. "Why didn't you want me to take Onyx to the stables? He could have panicked and hurt anyone else." she asked.

"Because if Stefan finds out, he is going to be angry, and may prevent you from riding with me again." he whispered.

"Oh." Elena raised her hand to her mouth, realizing how foolish she had been.

"Don't worry, the stable lad is probably glad you didn't." Damon looked up at her. "He's been paid quite handsomely to keep his mouth shut." he smirked as Stefan returned.

"Elena." Stefan said as she left to go to the study and speak to the Sheriff. Once there she relayed exactly the same story to Bill as she had to Stefan, although keeping the details of hers and Damon's time and true location a secret. He didn't ask her anything too difficult as she was almost telling the truth of what was needed for the Sheriff. Although the niggling doubt of lying to a man of the law did seep into the back of her mind. She just hoped god wouldn't punish her for it.

When Elena and the Sheriff returned, one of the senior yard hands was in the parlor talking to Damon. The fire was out, but the building had now completely collapsed. The timbers were still hot, meaning the retrieval of any bodies would have to wait until the area had cooled down. Bill would leave his deputy and five of Damon's men to guard the remains until morning, where it should be possible to search the rubble for any bodies.

As they were all exhausted from the day, it was decided to forego supper as it would be deemed inappropriate under the circumstances. Instead Elena went to bed, and Stefan followed her an hour later. She hadn't dared go to sleep, as she was expecting a beating for whatever reason Stefan might find. Instead all he did was curse, complaining nobody could ever get anything right. And with that he got into bed and fell fast asleep, leaving Elena wondering what he was talking about.

The next morning Elena came down to breakfast. Stefan and Damon were already up and waiting for her to join the. There was a stench of smoke in the air, however Elena was starving after not having eaten since the picnic she and Damon shared the previous day.

"I will be gone most of the day." Stefan declared. "I suspect it may even be dark when I arrive home. I have had word of the request of a memorial for Bob and Nancy, that is indeed if they are found to have perished in the fire." he said as they took their places in the dining room.

"Bill stopped by a little earlier, he said nobody had seen either of them." Damon said, sounding dejected.

"Where is Bill?" Stefan asked.

"He is with a few of the men who saw the perpetrators running away from the crime scene." Damon told him. "Hopefully we can find out if they're local." he said. "But I doubt it."

"Did Bob have any gambling debts or secrets for someone to do this?" Stefan asked. "You know what those folks can be like."

"No." Damon shook his head. "He was head of the stables and paid accordingly." he told him. "Never been late with his rent, I should know, I own the property. Heck, he even pays one of my scullery maids to clean for him once a week because he refused to let Nancy do it."

"How come they couldn't get out?" Elena asked. There were two exits to the stables. Surely if one was on fire, they could have run to the other." she said.

"Apparently two people were seen running away." Damon told her. "I assume they covered both entrances at the same time. Bob and Nancy may have been a little preoccupied at the time to notice anything before it was too late." he said sadly.

"Brother!" Stefan hit his hand on the table. "You should not speak of such things at the breakfast table, it is not proper." he said angrily as Elena flinched.

"Brother dear." Damon winced. "Bob and Nancy frequently ate in Matilda's stall, much to the delight of my horse as they would leave her an apple or two." he said. "You cannot see either entrance from her stall unless you are stood. I doubt they would have been stood while they ate. Do you really think I would allow improper behavior in a place where anyone can walk in at any time?" Damon frowned. "And do you really think Bob would disrespect Nancy in such a public way? I think not. It is you, dear brother, whom should not assume the worst in everyone."

"I've had enough!" Stefan rudely rose from the table. "Wife, brother." he nodded at Elena and Stefan respectively, before leaving the dining room.

Once he'd left, Elena sighed with relief. "Are you well?" Damon asked her gently, putting his hand on hers. "Did you take in too much smoke when we returned yesterday?"

Elena shook her head. "Thank you for your concern Damon. I am well." she smiled. "I am just saddened by yesterdays events." she said sadly.

"All of the events?" Damon asked with a smile.

Elena blushed. "We should not speak of such things at this time of tragedy." she cast her eyes down as the thought which crossed her mind occurred once more. "Damon, do you think they were going after Bob, or going after you?" she said quietly.

"What makes you think that?" Damon frowned.

"We were supposed to meet for the lesson around the time the fire started." Elena told him. "We only left early because your meeting with the bank finished early." she added.

"But how could anyone mistake Bob for me?" Damon asked.

"If they don't know you they might." Elena said. "He was white, with black hair. He was of a similar age and size to yourself." she continued with her fears. "If someone was given your description, and had never met you before, there is a chance they would not know he wasn't you. I would not expect you to be described as devilishly handsome, unless it was a woman who had requested the attack." she said.

Damon thought for a moment and frowned. "You may be right." he finally said. "But why would they do it while you could possibly be inside?" he asked. "If the person who committed this heinous act believed I would be there, they would expect you to be with me."

Elena's eyes widened with fear. Shed been so consumed with concern over the terrifying possibility of Damon being the target of the attack, that she hadn't considered she herself may have been the intended target.

"Oh my." Elena raised her hand to her mouth. "What did Nancy look like?" she asked.

"Long dark hair, very much like yours." Damon told her. "Although she was a little older than you, although not by much, maybe five years. Her husband died in the war not long after they married." he said sadly. "But do not fear Elena." Damon smiled. "It is only a theory. It could be horse thieves, or someone from my past trying to get revenge on me for something." he frowned, trying to think of anything he could possibly have done which would be so serious it would warrant killing him, however he couldn't think of anything.

"I'm scared." Elena whispered.

"I will protect you." Damon promised her.

"What if you are the target?" she asked.

"Well, either we stick together, or we stay far away from each other." Damon said. "I can only protect you a little from a distance."

"I could not bear to be away from you." Elena admitted quietly, to make sure nobody overheard what she said.

"Then we must be sensible." Damon said. "If we tell the Sheriff our suspicions, we would have constant protection." he said sadly. "But it would mean our rides would be chaperoned." he sighed. "But if it is true, whoever did it, knew about our planned movements for the day. There weren't many people who knew about what time we were meant to ride out." he said.

"Unless they accidentally told the wrong person." Elena suggested.

"It means it is someone we know." Damon frowned. "Someone close to us. Protection would be of no use. Not if the information came from an insider." he said.

"So what do you suggest?" Elena asked.

"Feed people misinformation regarding our planned whereabouts." Damon suggested. "Only you and I are to know our true plans. I believe that is the best way to keep us safe." he said. "For the time being, I think we should keep our thoughts to ourselves."

"I agree." Elena nodded.

Suddenly there was a knock on the dining room door.

"Enter." Damon called out.

Bonnie poked her head around the door. "Sorry to bother you Master Damon, Mistress Elena. But Sheriff Forbes is waiting for you in the parlor. He has some news." she said.

Damon and Elena looked at each other wearily. "Tell him we'll be right along Bonnie." Damon told her as Bonnie disappeared to let the Sheriff know. Damon turned to Elena. "Would you like to join me?" he asked. "It could involve you." he said.

"I would be most grateful." Elena agreed as Damon stood up and held his hand out to assist Elena. They left the dining room to join Bill in the parlor.

Damon and Elena greeted Bill in the proper manner before sitting down. Bonnie was asked to leave the room and to tell one of the maids to bring some tea. Once she'd left they settled down to business.

"What news do you have Bill?" Damon asked, getting straight to the point.

"Firstly, we found the remains of two bodies in the debris." Bill told them sadly. "We cannot identify the bodies for certain as they are very badly burned. We cannot even determine whether the bodies are of men or women." he said, as Elena put her hand to her mouth, and tried to hold back the tears. Although this had been anticipated, hearing the words was far more upsetting.

"Oh my goodness." Elena whimpered. "They must have suffered." she said.

"They were probably overcome with smoke before they burned." Bill assured her. "They would not have felt the burns." he said. "But that is not all." Bill told them. "One of your workers recognized the two men who were running away from the fire." he said. "It was the two who were in the tavern the night before causing trouble. They were brandishing money claiming they'd won big in a card game, although they wouldn't say with who or where." Bill explained. "I arrested them that night and held them in a cell to sober up. The names they gave me were John Smith and Tommy Jones of no fixed abode. I doubt they are their real names." he said. "But I'm getting some wanted posters drawn up right now. Enough people saw them to spot them right away. They won't come back here without being caught." Bill smiled.

"Anything else?" Damon asked.

"Kerosene was found at the scene." Bill told him. "It was clearly planned. Now you say Bob didn't have any gambling debts, but if they won big in a game..." he started.

"Maybe." Damon quickly glanced over at Elena as they both suspected it wasn't meant to be Bob. "But I've never known him gamble." he said.

"Well we can't rule it out." Bill said. "I'm sending my deputies to the neighboring five counties with the wanted posters. They won't get far." he assured them.

"Put a five hundred dollar reward on the posters." Damon told them. "I want them caught. They murdered one of my best men and the woman he was supposed to be marrying." he said angrily.

"Will do Damon." Bill tipped his head. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have other people to interview, to make sure the posters are a good likeness." he said. "I'll be seeing you." he said. "Good day Damon. Goodbye Mrs Salvatore." he nodded.

"I'll see you out Bill." Damon said.

"Goodbye Sheriff." Elena smiled as Damon led the Sheriff out.

A few minutes later Damon returned to the parlor. "Would you follow me to my study?" Damon asked as Elena nodded with confusion.

As they entered, Elena noticed the shutters were still closed, on top of that, Damon locked the door behind them.

"What is it?" Elena whispered.

"If anyone gets wind of our suspicions, or thinks the same thing, then we won't have many chances to be alone." Damon said quietly. "It might be a few days before we can go riding again, and I cannot stand the thought of not having you in my arms for that long." he told her as Elena ran into his arms, which he wrapped around her tightly.

"Me either." Elena whispered back as she nuzzled into his muscular chest, taking in his masculine scent.

Damon rested his cheek against her head. "We may have to use these small moments until we can return to the hut." he said. "And use them well." he added as Elena turned and looked up at him.

His blue eyes gazed into hers lovingly, causing Elena's hear to melt. She stood on her tiptoes and placed her lips against his. No tentative invitations were required this time as their tongues danced and rejoiced in the vague familiarity of each other. Her body took over and it's natural instincts overruled her head. Elena pressed her hips against Damon's, although she was unsure why. She struggled to resist unbuttoning his shirt. All the while she became consumed by their kiss.

Eventually they had to stop kissing to breathe. They rested their foreheads together.

"I love you." Damon whispered.

"I love you too." Elena whispered back as Damon's lips found hers once more.

This time however, Damon's mouth moved down towards Elena's chin and neck. She lifted her head to give him more access as the warmth between her legs grew with every touch of his lips on the sensitive skin on her neck. He walked backwards until one of the chairs hit the back of his knees and sat down, pulling Elena on top of him so she was sat on his knees.

Damon's mouth traced the line of her collarbone and continued down until it reached the neckline of her dress, where there was a feint outline of her small bosom. He kissed the small amount of flesh available to him, sending heat pouring between Elena's thighs, which was also beginning to feel damp, although she had no idea why. Damon looked up at her lovingly.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door and Elena quickly jumped off Damon's knee. Damon ran around to the other side of his desk to avoid anyone noticing the huge erection he had.

"Come in." Damon called out as Bonnie walked in. "What is it Bonnie?" Damon asked.

"I thought you should know. One of the suspects had been found Master Damon." Bonnie started.

"Great news." Damon smiled, but Bonnie cast her eyes down. "What is it Bonnie?" Damon frowned.

"They found him dead." she replied. "He was found with a bullet in his head." she said. "Sheriff says he hadn't been dead long as the blood was still sticky." she added.

"Damn!" Damon growled as he thumped his fist on the table, before trying to regain his composure. "Well, at least we know they were still in the area and the other one can't have gotten far." he said. "Has the Sheriff organized a search party?" he asked.

"I don't know." Bonnie shook her head as Damon stood up, the news quickly erasing any trace of the erection he had just been sporting.

"You stay with Elena." Damon instructed Bonnie. "I'm going to see the Sheriff." he said. And with that he left the room.

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews for this story. They are very much appreciated.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Warning for slightly explicit sexual content.**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

After Damon had left, Elena and Bonnie went to the library to pass the time until he returned with further news. They engaged in a discussion about their various favorite books when suddenly Stefan returned. He must have checked the study and parlor first before he found Elena and Bonnie. Stefan simply glared at Bonnie with enough venom for her to know she needed to leave the room, therefore she scuttled out of the door and closed it behind her.

"Where is my brother?" Stefan demanded.

"He has gone to visit Sheriff Forbes." Elena replied.

"Why?" Stefan frowned. "Has there been more news?" he asked.

Elena nodded. "One of the suspects has been found dead." she told him. "He was shot in the head. Most likely this morning." she said.

Stefan nodded. "I see." he said. "Well I came to inform you I will not be going away for a few days." he told her. "I am visiting both Bob's family and Nancy's family. The Sheriff asked me a little earlier. Apparently some live a fair few miles from here. But it is my duty to care for them in this time of need." he explained.

"Where will you eat and sleep?" Elena asked, trying to sound as if she cared.

"I'm sure hospitality will be granted." Stefan told her. "Fear not dear wife." he smiled in such a way, Elena thought he almost cared. "I will rest in peace as long as I can I be assured you will be safe here?" Stefan asked. "Promise me you will not go out riding for the next few days?" he asked.

"I am quite certain I will be fine." Elena told him. "I promise not to go anywhere unless it is deemed necessary." she assured him.

"Good." Stefan replied. "I need a few things for my trip." he told her. "I shall go and get them, meanwhile could you ask the kitchens to make some food to take with me for my journey?" he asked.

"Would you like anything in particular?" Elena asked.

"Cheese and pickle, some chicken and fruit should see me through for a day." Stefan said.

"Who is looking after the church?" Elena asked.

"Pastor Donovan, who took over temporarily when Pastor Young died, will be taking the service." Stefan told her. "He is coming over from Grove Hill and will attend to the services." he said.

Elena rang the bell and told Bonnie of Stefan's order, while knowing full well Stefan was in all likelihood filling his hip flasks with whiskey, either that or simply taking a few bottles. She just hoped he didn't take too much so that he was too drunk when he returned from his trip. When he returned Elena could see the shapes of the flasks in his pockets, however she pretended not to, as she didn't want to enrage him before he left. Bonnie returned with sandwiches and some fruit in a pouch to tie on to Pluto.

"Good day dear wife." Stefan nodded.

"Good day dear husband." Elena replied. "Have a safe journey." she said, kissing Stefan on the cheek as he left. She and Bonnie watched as he walked out of the door before Bonnie turned to her.

"He'll be lucky to be back within the week if he's dealing with their families." she told Elena. "Bob's family live about forty miles north of here. They moved away after the war for work, but Bob stayed as he already had a good job. And Nancy's family come from fifty miles south. She moved to Mystic Falls when she married as her husband Anthony was a tailor. Nancy ran the business while he was gone. When he died, she continued to run the business, although she has a trained tailor working for her." Bonnie explained. "She was such a valuable part of the community by then. Also she met Bob, so there was little point in moving back to her family." she said.

"Oh." Elena simply said, realizing she didn't have to deal with her husband for almost a week. She tried not to look relieved, but the expression on her face was clear, she was happier than she had been since the day she married Stefan.

Moments later, Damon returned from his visit to see the Sheriff.

"Damon!" Elena called out as he quickly found her and Bonnie in the library. "What did the Sheriff have to say?" she asked.

"The man found dead had indeed been identified as Tommy Jones, or whatever his real name is." Damon told her. "He had nothing on him, no money, no gun, even some of his clothes were missing." he said.

"Do you think the other person did it?" Elena asked.

"Most likely." Damon nodded, although Elena suspected he didn't believe that and was just relaying what the Sheriff had told him for Bonnie's sake.

"Stefan just left." Elena told him. "He's going to see the families of Bob and Nancy." she said.

"He'll be gone for around a week." Damon nodded thoughtfully. "Elena, I need to speak to you in private in the study." he said, which Bonnie knew meant keep away. She respected Damon enough to know not to listen in, although she was beginning to suspect something was going on between the two of them. The way they looked at each other was not that of which their positions afforded. They were able to read each other, and they would understand what the other was saying without the words being spoken. It was the understanding with which two people would have, who were very familiar with each other, and usually in love.

Once Damon and Elena were alone, Damon went to one of the drawers of his desk and brought out a set of four keys. Elena frowned, completely confused by Damon's actions, she'd expected he wanted to kiss her, although she did notice the shutters were open, which meant people could see inside. Damon held out the large, heavy keys, which were all black, except for a brass one, to Elena, who took them and examined them.

"What are these for?" she asked.

Damon walked over her to show her. "This one is the key to your bedroom door." he told her. "I want you to lock it at night. As much as I despise my brother for the way he treats you, at least you are safer while he is around." he explained. "This on here..." he showed her the largest key. "This is the key to the servants entry to your bathroom. Open that and you can escape down the stairs and through the servants exit. This one here." he pointed to the smallest key. "This is the entry to the door across the hall from your bathroom into my bathroom." he said. "If you need me at night, you can easily find me. And this one..." he held the brass key. "This key locks the door to the servant stairs."

"Why would there be a door to stop the servants entering through the servants entrance?" Elena asked.

"Because when my father first married my mother, they slept apart. When he wanted to visit her at night, he would go through the servants entrance as it was private." he smiled mischievously. "To make sure the servants didn't see him in his night wear, he made sure the door was locked, basically making it just a corridor between the two rooms." he explained.

"Oh." Elena nodded. "So why do _I_ need this key?" she asked.

"If you want to visit me when you do not want the servants to know." Damon lowered his eyes.

"Oh I see." Elena blushed. "Do you not have a set of keys?" she asked.

"I do." Damon nodded. "But I would not presume to visit you unless you wanted me to. And also, that was my father's bed." he grimaced. "Now I know of your predicament, I do not believe that bedroom allows for true love to blossom." he said sadly.

"Would I be able to visit you tonight?" Elena asked shyly.

"You never have to ask." Damon smiled. "I could never say no to you." he added.

"Then I will visit you after supper." she stated. "Although I am not quite ready to..." she stopped, hoping Damon would understand.

"We will take everything at your pace." Damon agreed. "You have been through enough. I would not wish to rush you. I want our first time to be perfect." he smiled, to which Elena blushed even more. He had a wonderful habit of bringing the color to her cheeks.

"Maybe we should retire early tonight." Elena suggested.

"I think that is a wonderful idea." Damon agreed. "I'm quite sure servants will appreciate it. I will speak to Emily to tell the cook to organize supper for two hours earlier. That will allow me time to finish everything I need to do today before taking a bath." he said.

"Well then, I suppose I also ought to bathe." Elena smiled. "Maybe I shall try the rose oil Bonnie keeps suggesting." she said.

"That would be nice, although I do like you the way you are." Damon admitted.

"We shall see." Elena grinned. "Is there anything else?" she asked.

"Nothing that I can currently think of." Damon replied. "Now I must get to work." he said as Elena opened the door to the study.

"Good day brother." Elena said for the benefit of potentially any ears who may be listening in.

"Have a good day sister. I shall see you at supper." Damon replied, and with that Elena closed the door and left Damon to his work.

By the time Elena had eaten her dinner, bathed and rested, it was time for her and Damon to have an early supper. Instead of going to the library for a short period before finally retiring for the night, Elena went to bed almost immediately, claiming to have a headache. Although Elena often went to bed earlier than Damon and Stefan, this was early even for her.

When she got to her room, Bonnie helped remove Elena's bodice, skirt and her hooped underskirt until she was left in just her petticoats, and her corset. As Elena was not allowed any assistance from Bonnie with her corset, she'd taken to wearing a front fastening one since she had her first dresses and clothes bought for her by Damon. This meant Stefan no longer had to help her with her corset and lace it up too tight, which had almost prevented her from breathing. This type of corset was far more fashionable and practical, especially at times like this. Elena also removed her stockings, but left her drawers on for modesty, before loosening her hair as if she were getting ready to go to bed.

Elena had decided not to visit Damon in her night dress as they were made of a light cotton, which meant her entire body would be visible through the material. And although Elena knew she and Damon were planning to be more intimate, she was not sure if she was ready for him to see her like that. Even Stefan hadn't bothered to remove her clothes, although Elena suspected when the time was right, that would not be the case with Damon.

Elena wrapped a woolen shawl around her shoulders and locked her bedroom door, before heading to the bathroom and opening the connecting door to the servants stairway. She locked the door stairway privacy door with the silver key to prevent anyone coming upstairs and disturbing them, or even knowing Elena was in Damon's bedroom. He'd assured her nobody was allowed upstairs at night unless there was an emergency, therefore nobody would be listening in on the other side of either door.

Elena took a deep breath and knocked on Damon's door, hoping he was already there, as he had told her he wouldn't be long. She had taken around an hour to disrobe and build up the courage to go see him in such a state of undress. A few seconds later, Elena heard footsteps on the other side of the door and the key turn, before it opened revealing Damon, who was wearing substantially more clothes than she was. From what Elena could see, he was wearing his trousers and his shirt; only his jacket, boots, vest and cravat were missing. Elena blushed realizing how wanton she must have looked in her current state of undress, but instead Damon simply smiled and gestured her to enter. He locked the door as they walked through the bathroom and into Damon's bedroom, where she found a similar room to hers and Stefan's. However Damon's room was slightly smaller and consisted of a large four poster bed. Elena felt a little overwhelmed by it.

"Your room is beautiful." she said nervously.

"It is functional." Damon shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets. "I barely spend any time here. Nowadays it is just used for sleeping." he said. "Would you like to sit?" he asked, showing her to the red couch near the window, which was opposite a well worn looking brown leather chair, which Elena assumed must be Damon's usual seat. Between the couch and chair was a coffee table, which housed a bottle of red wine and two glasses. Elena sat down on the couch and Damon sat opposite her in the leather chair. "Would you like some wine?" he asked.

Normally Elena never drank as Stefan forbade it citing it was against their religion, which Elena found wholly hypocritical considering his own drinking habits, however she had simply obeyed to prevent him from beating her. However Stefan was not in Mystic Falls and would never know, therefore Elena decided she might as well indulge slightly.

"Just a small glass." she replied as Damon poured her half a glass, while pouring himself a slightly larger measure.

Damon took a sip of the wine and Elena followed suit, but instead of taking a sip, she drank the entire glass; forcing her to try her hardest not to screw her face up at the unusual taste, but clearly failed, causing Damon to laugh at her.

"You clearly are not used to the taste of wine are you?" he chuckled as he finished the contents of his own glass.

"I admit, I've never been allowed to drink it before." she told him.

"Would you prefer water?" Damon asked, but Elena shook her head.

"The wine will be fine once I am accustomed to the taste." she said, as she noticed a slightly warm feeling in her body, which was clearly caused by the wine. Elena also noticed she was feeling slightly more emboldened. "I must admit, I feel very under dressed." she said.

"I think you look perfect as you are." Damon said truthfully. "However I am concerned as to whether you are cold. I can light a fire." he said pouring them both another glass of wine.

In truth, Elena was a little chilly, the shawl wasn't particularly warm. "That would be nice." she smiled as Damon got up and lit the fire.

Soon the warm orange glow filled the room, giving it a feeling of comfort, almost making Elena feel sleepy, especially combine with the wine. This time Damon didn't sit opposite Elena, he sat down on the couch next to her, took her hand and kissed her knuckles. Elena melted right then; just his lips against her skin was enough to make her feel things she'd never known before. Elena wanted him to place her on his knee like he did before and kiss her chest, although now she only wore her corset, there was more bare skin of access to him. However, Elena was feeling inquisitive. She'd never seen a man without his shirt before. Stefan always wore his night shirt to bed and would dress in another room.

Elena took another sip of the wine to give her the courage to go ahead with what she wanted to do next. She leaned over and unfastened the second button of Damon's shirt as the top button was already undone. Damon's eyes lit up and he leaned over to her and their lips gently brushed up against each others, before they began to kiss ravenously.

While Elena continued to unbutton Damon's shirt as they kissed, Damon wrapped his arm around Elena's waist. He pulled her around until she was straddling him. This made life much easier for Elena as one by one, she continued to unfasten the buttons of Damon's shirt. To her disappointment, she realized he was wearing an undershirt. However, undeterred, she unbuttoned faster until the shirt was undone. Damon clearly took pity on her as he wriggled free of the shirt. Fortunately the shirt which was beneath was looser and allowed Elena's hands to roam underneath, meaning she could touch his skin. However Damon pulled away from the kiss.

"Would you like me to take this off?" he asked as Elena nodded shyly.

Once he lifted his tunic over his head, Elena took in a deep breath, surprised by what she saw. His chest and arms was muscular, forming shapes she'd never seen before, but instantly knew she liked. Elena ran her fingers down the smooth skin which was periodically covered in small amounts of hair. One area caught her eye in particular. Just below his navel was a line of hair which went all of the way down into his trousers. Elena flushed with embarrassment as she realized where it was leading to. She swallowed hard as she reminded herself that the way Stefan had gone about their intimate times was wrong. They had not engaged in kissing or touching, which was why it had been uncomfortable for Elena. With Damon it was different, these were exactly the things they were doing, and according to Bonnie, part of the Damon's body the hair was leading to, should normally bring Elena a great deal of pleasure, not the pain she was accustomed to.

Damon's hands, which had been placed around Elena's waist moved down to her hips, as he began to pull her in closer. Elena's body must have taken over, because although her mind didn't know what she was supposed to do, her pelvis certainly did. She began to rotate her hips as she felt herself brushing up against the bulge in Damon's trousers. As the area covering her intimate parts were seamless, as they usually were, her straddling Damon meant the area which was open to the air was wide apart. This completely exposed her to the material of Damon's trousers, as if she wore nothing at all. Every movement sent a jolt of electricity through her body, so pleasurable it felt like her body was going to explode. Elena moaned into Damon's mouth and pressed her hips down harder, needing more of the friction which was causing heat to build up inside her, similar to what she'd felt before, except this time it was far more intense.

Elena knew whatever was building up inside her, was going to come to a point where she could no longer bear it and something would have to give. She just hoped Damon would understand whatever was going on.

Damon pulled away from their kiss. "Do you want me to help you." he whispered as Elena simply nodded, no longer able to form coherent words. "Do you trust me?" he asked as Elena nodded once more. "I'm not going to hurt you, I'm just going to make you feel good." he warned her.

"Please." Elena begged as she pressed her forehead against Damon's.

She felt Damon's hand make its way under her petticoat and up to the point where she knew she needed him to put it. All the while he began to kiss her neck and chest like he had when they were in his study. Elena felt Damon's hand between her thighs and he began to touch the place where she needed him the most. His thumb massaged what felt like the point which seemed to produce the bolts of electricity, while his other fingers found her entrance. Under normal circumstances, Elena would have been wary of any man putting any part of his body in that area, however Elena trusted Damon and knew whatever he did would be for the best.

That was why when Damon pressed his fingers inside her, she didn't even flinch. Unlike when Stefan was inside her, this was not painful, in fact this was the opposite, it was the most intense pleasure she'd ever experienced. Damon continued to thrust his fingers inside her while massaging the sensitive area, when it clearly became too much for her body to take. Something inside her reached a trigger point and the heat inside her boiled over, she felt her insides begin to spasm, clamping around Damon's fingers like a vice.

"That's it Elena. Let go for me." Damon whispered in a voice she'd never heard him use before.

"Oh...oh...Damon..." Elena cried as she clung to him while the exquisite convulsions took over the area of her body which had always been off limits to pleasure. She burned deep within as she pressed her body into Damon's chest. Whatever was happening to her so powerful, it felt as if it were consuming her entire being. All too soon, the sensation began to subside and she could feel Damon's fingers stop working their magic. Elena found herself absolutely shattered from the intensity of pleasure she'd felt.

Finally Elena collapsed, her head in the crook of Damon's neck while she was still straddling him. He removed his hand from under her skirt and began to tenderly stroke her hair. Elena sighed with contentment.

"Is that the first time that has ever happened to you?" Damon asked softly.

"Mm-hmm." Elena nodded weakly. "It was wonderful." she smiled. "Thank you."

"Thank you." Damon smiled back. "Knowing that I was the first, and hopefully the _only_ man to ever give you and orgasm, makes me feel very honored. Your pleasure is my pleasure." he whispered as he nibbled her ear.

"And what about your pleasure?" Elena asked.

"Don't worry about me. We have a few days." Damon smiled. "I just want to make sure you feel good, and feel comfortable about feeling good." he told her. "But most of all, I just want you to one day trust me with your body." he said.

"I already do." Elena smiled almost sleepily.

"I think we need to get you to bed." Damon laughed. "I believe that one glass of wine has gone to your head." he said.

"I don't want to stay in that bedroom. I hate it!" Elena complained. "I want to stay with you." she said, nuzzling into him, taking in his intoxicating scent.

"Fine." Damon sighed. "Let me find you one of my shirts." he said. "You can't sleep in that thing." he told her as he pushed her off him, causing Elena to moan grumpily until he picked her up bridal style and placed her down gently on the bed.

Damon then rummaged through his dresser until he found an appropriate shirt for Elena to wear. When he turned around, he was shocked to find her already removing her corset, clearly an effect of the wine. As much as he wanted to stare as her naked petite frame, he knew it was not what she wanted. Therefore he threw the shirt on the bed and turned his back to her.

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything." Damon told her. "There's a shirt on the bed behind you." he said.

Elena reached behind her and found Damon's shirt, which she pulled over her head. "You can turn around now." she said as Damon turned to look at her. Elena had not only removed the corset, but she'd removed everything, including her drawers. In fact the only item of clothing covering Elena's body was the shirt he had just given her, which only came down to her knees. She turned back the sheets and climbed into his bed and lay down, her eyes never leaving his. Damon threw his own night dress over his head and quickly removed his trousers. He clearly hadn't been wearing anything underneath as he threw his clothes on a chair and climbed into bed beside her. Elena curled her body into his, while he wrapped his strong arms protectively around her body.

Elena lifted her head slightly and placed chastely kissed Damon on the lips. "Goodnight Damon." she whispered. "I love you." she murmured.

Damon kissed Elena on the top of her head. "I love you too Elena. Goodnight." he said as they both closed their eyes and fell fast asleep.

 **I had to do a bit of research for this chapter, and to my surprise, I found that women's drawers were crotchless during this era as it was otherwise a little difficult to use the chamberpot/outhouse or whatever they were using at the time. So I decided to opt for authenticity. ;)**

 **Thank you all for the wonderful reviews so far. They are always very much appreciated, and mean a great deal to me. I always endeavor to reply to reviews.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Warning for explicit sexual content and bad language.**

Elena awoke to the feeling of being safe. Strong arms were wrapped around her body from behind, but it was Damon's scent which she could smell, and that was how she knew she was safe. He held her tightly, as if terrified he would let go, lest she would be gone forever. Elena could also feel Damon's manhood poking in her back, as if already hard. She opened her eyes and turned around to face him. It was still dark outside and the fire had long gone out, but she wanted to rest her head in his chest. When she moved, Elena must have woke Damon.

"Elena?" he said groggily.

"I'm still here." Elena whispered as she rest he head against his chest, however she had to hitch her leg over Damon's hips as it wasn't the most practical position to lie in.

"I thought you might have left and run for the hills." he whispered.

"Stefan wanted you to keep me safe, we were abiding by his wishes." Elena teased.

"I doubt this was quite what he had in mind, but you do have a very good point." he said as Elena lifted her head towards where she could sense Damon's mouth.

Their lips brushed together, testing where the other was before deepening the kiss. Damon's hand slid under Elena's night dress and up her thigh to her hip, sending flashes of heat between Elena's legs, reminiscent of the feeling she had experienced the night before, which she desperately craved once more. Damon's hand gently slid back down Elena's thigh and to behind her knee, where he pulled her in closer to him. This time she could feel his hardened manhood poking into her stomach, which had a curious effect on her.

For some inexplicable reason, Elena wanted to feel Damon inside her. This was strange considering her previous encounters of a man being inside her was all about pain, yet with Damon she knew it would be the opposite. Her body was desperately craving him, and even though she knew she was rushing things, she didn't care. Elena's mind was no longer in charge as nature took over her needs, and for some reason she seemed to know exactly what to do.

Elena slipped her hand under Damon's night shirt and found his manhood, she took him in her hand and began to stroke him, causing Damon to moan into their kiss. Elena pulled away and let go of his manhood, thinking she may have hurt him, but Damon rested his forehead against hers.

"Did I hurt you?" Elena ask, her voice full of concern.

"Quite the contrary Elena." Damon replied. "It felt wonderful. Although I think you should be careful with my restraint." he warned her.

"I don't want to be careful with your restraint." Elena whispered. "I want you. All of you." she said.

"You cannot mean that." Damon said quietly, his tone of voice indicated he was shocked by her confession.

"I trust you." Elena told him. "I know you won't hurt me, in fact if anything it will feel good." she said as she found his face and stroked his cheek.

"Do you wish for the light to be on or off?" Damon asked, wondering if the light being on might make it easier on her as seeing his face would make her feel more secure about who she was with.

"Please." Elena replied as she felt Damon let her go and turn over.

Elena heard a snapping noise as a candle on the dresser next to them lit up. Damon then reached over Elena's body and did the same at her side of the bed. The two candles only provided a small amount to light, but it was enough for them to be able to clearly see each others faces. However Elena wasn't content with just Damon's face, she wanted to see the rest of him. She reached under the sheets and tugged at his night shirt, hoping Damon would take the hint she was giving him. Seemingly understanding her request, Damon lifted his night shirt over his head, revealing his naked body.

Elena's eyes roamed his body, greedily taking in every inch of his beautiful chest, which was crying out for her to kiss. Deciding to go with her instinct, much to his surprise. Elena pushed Damon onto his back. She straddled his thighs, just below his manhood and bent down and began to explore Damon's body with her lips.

"Tell me if I'm doing anything wrong." Elena whispered.

"You are doing everything right." Damon replied.

Elena, once more took Damon's manhood in her hand and began to stroke it. However this time Damon did correct her. He took her fingers and wrapped them around hid manhood, he then covered her hand with his and slid it up and down the length.

"Like that." he whispered.

"Thank you." Elena replied as she kissed his lips before returning to explore Damon's chest with her mouth.

As Elena continued to pump Damon's shaft, she felt a small amount of wetness on the tip, using her thumb, she brushed it away, eliciting a moan from Damon's lips. "Do you like that?" Elena asked as Damon simply nodded.

Elena smiled as she continued to make her way down Damon's chest until she was met by that wonderful line of hair she'd noticed the previous evening. It was almost as if it were an arrow designed for her, telling her to continue. Deciding the instruction was there for a reason, Elena's lips continued further down until she met his shaft. Curiosity took over as she wanted to know what he tasted like. So far Damon hadn't told her to stop, and if this was something she wasn't supposed to do, surely he would have stopped her by now, therefore she trusted her instincts and kissed the tip of his manhood.

"Oh fuck!" Damon whispered as he bucked his hips slightly. Elena lifted her head to see if he didn't like it, but the expression of pure bliss on his face confirmed she was definitely doing something right.

Emboldened by the expression on Damon's face, Elena thought she would take things one step further. She licked the tip of his manhood, taking in the saltiness, which turned out not to be unpleasant, before placing her lips around him and taking his length into her mouth. Damon moaned louder as he ran his fingers through Elena's hair, which was another indication she was doing it right. However, he soon stopped her, which disappointed Elena as she thought she must have done something wrong, until he told her why.

"If you want to take this all the way, you need to stop, otherwise I won't be able to make love to you." he warned her. "I have no idea where you learned that, but you are too good at it." he told her, which put a smile on Elena's face.

"Really?" she asked.

"I wouldn't lie to you, especially about this." Damon told her, as Elena climbed up Damon's body. "Now my turn." he grinned.

"What are you going to do?" Elena asked.

"Did you enjoy what I did last night?" Damon asked as Elena nodded emphatically. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"Implicitly." Elena replied.

"Then whatever I do, is strictly to make you find your pleasure." he said.

"I believe you." Elena frowned. "Why are you so concerned that I may not like it." she asked.

"You will enjoy it, but only if you relax." Damon told her. "If you enjoy it, so do I." he said.

"Are you doing something different to last night?" Elena asked.

"I'm going to use my mouth." he decided to warn her.

"But it will taste disgusting?" Elena screwed up her face.

"I have a fair idea of the taste." Damon smiled. "And it is my favorite flavor in the world. It tastes even better with someone you love." he said.

"Oh!" Elena said, surprised by this nugget of information. "If that is the case, as long as you like it, I'm sure I will." she smiled.

"I assure you, you will more than like it." Damon chuckled. "But first, it would help if we were rid of this." he said, tugging at the hem of Elena's night dress.

Although she felt a little shy, Elena helped Damon remove the night dress. She wanted to cover herself up, but Damon would have none of it. Instead he momentarily looked at her in wonder. Initially he kissed her on the lips, however his mouth moved down her neck and chest until his lips and tongue found her breasts.

"God you're beautiful." he murmured as he took one of her breasts and circled his tongue around the pink part surrounding her nipple, before he took it into his mouth, causing her nipple to pebble and prompting Elena to hitch her breath with pleasure.

Damon took the other nipple between his fingers and began to pinch it, causing Elena a little pain, but yet at the same time it was incredibly pleasurable. For her, this was a whole new experience. As Elena looked down on Damon, who had now switched breasts, she couldn't help but think how incredible the sight of him licking and sucking her breasts was.

Finally Damon must have decided that her breasts had had enough attention for the time being, Elena expected him to make his way back up the bed and kiss her, but Damon had other ideas. He began to pepper kisses down her stomach, until he reached her curls. Elena was shocked when Damon moved even further down the bed, spreading her legs before stroking his fingers up her and down her sensitive parts. Although he had warned her about what he was about to do, the sight of his head between her legs still came as a shock, although Elena couldn't work out whether she liked it or not.

"Oh my Elena." Damon said. "You really are wet for me." he smiled, however he noticed her hesitancy. "I'm going to ask you one more time, do you trust me?" Damon asked as Elena nodded gingerly. "Then I promise you, you'll like it, almost as much as I do." he smirked as he lowered his head between her legs letting his tongue follow the line his fingers had just made, causing Elena to jump at the sensation, realizing Damon was right about her liking it.

To prevent her from bucking her hips, Damon placed his hand gently on her stomach while opening her folds with the fingers of his other hand. He then blew into her entrance and began to circle her it with his tongue, delving deeper inside on every swoop, until he was what could only be described as making love to her with his tongue. Elena had never felt anything feel so amazing in her life.

Damon then upped the ante as he began to massage her another part of her private area with his thumb. This began to send that felt like little electric shocks through her body. The pleasure was so intense that the heat which had been pooling in her stomach threatened to turn to boiling point, like the night before as the fire inside her burned red hot. Damon then changed tactics as he inserted two fingers inside her and began to suck on her the area which had given her the little shocks, whilst his fingers pumped her, bringing her to the edge as red hot spasms began to take over her core, causing her to arch her back in pleasure as she tumbled over the edge into what could only be described as a type of heaven.

"Oh my goodness, Damon...oh yes...oh yes...oh yes...aah" she moaned as she suddenly went rigid, unable to form any coherent words as the spasms continued for a few moments longer before they began to die down, with which Damon followed suit, slowing down his tempo to match, before eventually stopping and removing his fingers.

Damon crawled up the bed and hovered above her, the tip of his shaft pushing against her entrance. "I take it you enjoyed that?" Damon asked with a huge smile on his face.

"Most definitely." she nodded, still slightly breathless as Damon bent his head and kissed her on the lips, allowing her to taste herself, which wasn't as unpleasant as she'd expected, although she did suspect Damon had exaggerated slightly with his assessment of the wonder of her flavor.

Damon pushed Elena's arms above her head, lacing his fingers through hers. "Are you ready?" he asked as she simply nodded in reply.

Damon lined up member at her entrance before slowly pushing it inside of her.

"Oh my." she moaned with shock at the lack of discomfort, and surprise by the pleasure as she felt his length stretch and fill her completely.

"Are you okay?" he whispered, his voice full of concern.

"Oh Damon." Elena giggled. "I am much more than okay." she smiled as she placed her hands on the cheeks of Damon's behind pushed her hips up to his signaling she wanted him to move.

Damon smiled as he took the hint and began to thrust, slowly at first, but he gradually began to pick up the pace, while Elena continued to move her hips in rhythmic time with his. He kissed her neck whilst at the same time continuing to thrust, their bodies were so in sync that it didn't take long for Elena to quickly feel the build up of her pleasure once more. Damon seemed to recognize the change in her by her increased moans of pleasure, therefore he slipped his hand between them and began to massage the part which seemed to increase the pleasure with the little shocks. The feel of his thrusts combined with his kisses and talented fingers, working their magic on her private parts, caused the heat to quickly pool in her stomach and the white hot spasms of another release overtook her body.

"Oh yes Damon...yes...aargh!" she cried as her climax hit her with a furious intensity which she hadn't expected, causing her to arch her back as Damon slowed his thrusts to allow her to come down from her high.

As soon as Elena recovered from her pleasure, Damon took charge once more, rolling them over so Elena was now on top. He placed his hands on her hips to help support her movements, while he continued to thrust up inside her.

"I want to be able to see your face when we both reach our peak together." Damon panted as their thrusts met an perfect synchronization, each one with more urgency than the last.

Damon suddenly sat up, and the way he looked up at her stunned her. The look of total submission made her feel like she could conquer the world. Nobody had ever looked at her like that, it was as if Damon was giving all of the power to her, such was the look in his eyes. She could gaze into his stunningly blue depths forever, drowning in their beauty. However the friction of their position began to distract her as she could feel the onset of another peak building up inside her.

"I can't hold on much longer Elena." Damon moaned as he latched his mouth onto her breast and sucked hard causing a moan to escape from Elena's mouth. The combination of pleasure and pain was a heady one, which was what tipped her over the edge one last time.

"Oh yes Damon...oh my..oh yes...yes...yes...argh!" she cried out as loudly as she dare while Damon kept thrusting as her white hot core began to pulsate all around him, milking his shaft to his own release. Elena's body went rigid before it began to shake and her vision began to blur.

"Oh yes...Elena...uh...aargh!" Damon cried out as she felt his hot seed spill inside of her, filling her womb.

Elena glanced down to see his face scrunch up in a way that made him look even more beautiful to her than she'd ever believed any person could ever be, while Damon's body shuddered for a few moments, as he found his own pleasure. In the meantime, they clung to one another, as if their lives depended on it.

Elena lowered her head and kissed Damon as her hair fell down around them, curtaining them, giving an illusion of privacy, while Elena felt Damon's member slowly soften inside her. As much as she never wanted this beautiful moment to end, Elena knew they could not sit like that forever, therefore she climbed off him, and they both lay back down on the bed. Elena curled into his chest as he held her in his arms, gently stroking the side of her body.

Elena sighed with contentment. "I think I can safely say that was the most incredible moment in my life." she told him.

"You are aware that when we are married, we will be able to do that whenever we should so choose." Damon chuckled.

"Are you genuinely proposing to me Mr Salvatore?" Elena smirked.

"It is my with that as soon as we find a way to annul your marriage to my brother, we would be wed." Damon replied. "That is unless you do not wish for us to be wed." he frowned.

"I would wish for nothing else." Elena smiled.

"Good then it is settled." Damon grinned. "This will not be the most incredible moment of your life as I'm sure I can improve." he pulled her in tighter.

"I think you misunderstand my meaning." Elena told him. "It was not just about the pure physical pleasure, although admittedly that was amazing." she said. "It was about you and how you made me feel."

"You are right, I do not understand." Damon frowned.

"You put my pleasure above your own." Elena explained. "You put my feelings first. To be on the receiving end of such selflessness was the most amazing feeling I've ever experienced in my whole life. For the first time ever, I felt truly loved." she sighed.

"What about your parents?" Damon frowned.

"Maybe when I was a child I felt the unconditional love of a parent." Elena nodded. "But at the same time, I was an only child, and a girl at that. Expectations of me were high to obtain the right and respectable marriage to ensure my parents reputation was secured." she explained. "So in some respects, everyone always wanted something from me in return. However we have no guarantee I can annul my marriage with Stefan. Therefore, although we wish to marry, it may not even be possible." she said sadly. "Even so, you still put me first and made me feel truly loved."

"Did Stefan never make you feel truly loved?" Damon frowned.

"I believed he cared for me." Elena told him. "But I was never entirely sure as to whether or not he loved me." she said sadly.

"Then why did you marry him?" Damon asked.

Elena thought for a moment. "He was handsome and charming." she told him. "He was a respectable member of the community and a great match. My father is not a particularly religious man, but he did see the merits of his daughter marrying a minister. Especially one who comes from such a prominent and wealthy family. It would confirm his status as a successful and well respected doctor. Patients would be more inclined to meet him knowing his daughter had achieved such a good marriage." she said.

"So your father cared more about Stefan's status above your own welfare?" Damon looked disgusted. "Did it not occur to him Stefan felt nothing for you?"

"I do not know what Stefan said to my father. However my father told me Stefan loved me as a man loves a woman and that I would be unlikely to make a better match." she said.

"Did your father ever suspect anything regarding how Stefan treats you?" Damon asked.

"If he did, he never said anything to me." Elena shrugged. "It was not his place to argue with a man of god." she said.

"Did he not question why you had not had children?" Damon sounded confused by her fathers lack of observation.

"I was no longer any of his concern. Whether Stefan and I had children or not was our business." Elena told him.

Damon fell silent for a minute before asking his next question. "How did you and my brother meet?" Damon asked. "I was never told of how you became acquainted."

Elena took a deep breath. "Stefan was a patient of my fathers." she told him. "I didn't know who he was at the time." she said. "However, this one time he came to be treat at my home as it was not possible to treat him due to lack of privacy. My father had an office for such visits, although they were rare. He would usually visit the patient instead." she told him.

"What was he there for?" Damon asked.

"He had injured his back in a riding accident a few months earlier." Elena told him. "He came to see my father for the pain." she said.

"And did your father give him anything?" Damon frowned.

"Laudanum." Elena said. "I think he still gives it to him every now and again. Although Stefan had to use another doctor for a while when my fathers supply disappeared." she shrugged.

"Disappeared?" Damon asked.

"Stolen." Elena told him. "Laudanum can make a person feel quite happy and can be addictive. If one is not careful with storing it, people will steal it." she said. "We have no idea how it was stolen because it was kept in the house. One day someone have broke in, but that is all that was taken. Father believed it to be one of his patients who had an addiction. We waited to hear of any deaths due to poisoning, but there were none." she said.

"I have never tried it." Damon admitted. "Katherine frequently used it for her monthly bleed, but I would use Grams pain relief if I needed anything. I did not know it was so potent." he frowned. "At least Stefan will have no need to talk to the doctor in Mystic Falls to get his medicine." he said. "Carry on with how you met." Damon encouraged her.

"I asked my father who he was. My father offered to introduce us. So I went along to the church. When I went to talk to him, he initially seemed disinterested. However when he found out who my father was, he was much more agreeable." Elena told him.

"I should hope so." Damon smiled. "I take it romance blossomed?" he asked as Elena shook her head.

"Stefan had to go away on one of his little trips." she spat. "It was only after he returned did he show any interest." she said.

"Do you not find that a little strange?" Damon frowned. "With hindsight of course. Stefan was pleasant but not interested. Then he met with Katherine and was suddenly interested in what we now know was a marriage which was never supposed to happen."

Elena rested her head into the crook of Damon's neck. "Do you think she encouraged it?" she asked.

"It certainly seems that way." Damon replied. "I believe those letters may be of more use to us now than they ever were." he said.

"Why?" Elena asked.

"Whatever he was planning, he needed to look like he was marrying a good respectable girl. Something was clearly meant to happen which meant he would never be able to marry you." Damon said. "But what could it be?" he asked. "Were any other girls interested in him?" he asked, already knowing the answer to the question, but he knew he had to ask.

"There were lots of girls wishing to catch Stefan's eye in the hope he may change his mind and marry them." Damon mused. "I wonder why he agreed to marry you." he said. "You are the most beautiful woman I have ever met, but Stefan was in love with Katherine, so it did not matter."

"Maybe I was the first to approach him." Elena suggested, but Damon shook his head.

"Women have always liked Stefan." Damon told her. "Caroline Forbes was smitten by him when we were younger." he said. "He could have had plenty of women of the correct birth, but he chose you with Katherine's blessing. What did you offer him that nobody else did?" he asked. "Under normal circumstances it would be love, but we know that is not why he married or courted you. It was something else." he said. "I think I need to get those other letters." he told her. "I was going to ask Emily to go when we got back from the hut, but the fires interrupted everything." he said.

"Why Emily?" Elena asked.

"Emily was Katherine's handmaiden." Damon explained. "Her family in Atlanta know Emily and would expect me to send only her for the rest of Katherine's things." he said. "I'll get onto it today." he told her.

"Do you have a busy schedule today?" Elena asked.

"I'm interviewing potential replacements for Bob." Damon told her. "I've already gotten a good idea of who I want to replace him, but I can't discount the other candidates, some of them are very experienced. But it also depends on the horses." he smiled and pulled her in tight to him.

Elena looked up and kissed him on the lips. "Do we have enough time to pretend to be man and wife once before I have to go back to my room?" Elena asked.

Damon looked to the clock which showed to be just after five. "We need to be quick." he said as he grabbed hold of Elena and tickled her ribs.

"I think that might be quite hard." Elena giggled as Damon pressed his manhood into Elena's stomach.

"You've got the hard bit right." he whispered into her ear before their lips met once more and they began to kiss.

 **Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. They are always very much appreciated and I love hearing from you. I always endeavor to respond to reviews via pm.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **This is a very plotty chapter with some major revelations. There's a lot to digest.**

 **I hope you enjoy it (I certainly enjoyed writing it).**

Elena slipped back into her own room and got ready for bed. She placed her previous day's clothes on the chair, where she would usually leave them, and donned her own nightdress before climbing into the vast cold bed. She tried to go to sleep, but all she could think of was how lonely she felt without Damon next to her. She had spent but a few short hours with him and he had changed her forever.

Their second time had been just as wonderful as the first, however Elena realized Damon quite liked it when she was on top of him and took charge. Elena found it wonderfully empowering, being a woman allowed to dominate a man for a short period of time. Elena had told him it made her feel wanton and wicked, to which Damon had laughed and promised her he would one day teach her how to really feel wanton and wicked should she ever feel inclined. Elena had to admit the offer was incredibly tempting.

Deciding to feign sleep, Elena closed her eyes for a few moments, when she was suddenly shocked by a knock on her bedroom door. When Elena opened her eyes, she realized she must have fallen asleep as she could see from the cracks in the shutters, it was now broad daylight outside, meaning she must have fallen sound asleep.

"Hello." Elena called out groggily.

"Mistress Elena." Bonnie replied from the other side of the door.

"Come in Bonnie." Elena yawned and sat up, waiting for the door to open, instead the door handle simply rattled, before she heard Bonnie put a key in the lock, reminding Elena she'd locked the door last night before she visited Damon.

Finally Bonnie walked in, startled by the fact Elena was still in bed.

"Are you ill?" Bonnie asked, her face filled with concern.

Illness was the furthest thing from Elena's mind and body. Instead she was still tingling from last night, or rather that morning with Damon, however Elena couldn't tell Bonnie that. Instead she had to think of some excuse for her still being in bed.

"I had a small glass of wine last night." Elena admitted, hoping that would be an effective enough explanation.

It worked as Bonnie broke into hysterical laughter. "One glass?" she chuckled. "Well, while the cat's away..."she started.

"Bonnie." Elena giggled, although Bonnie was absolutely right, but not for the reasons she thought.

"I do apologize." Bonnie said. "Master Damon already told me you'd indulged in a glass of wine last night and you might be feeling the effects of it this morning. He said to leave you in bed for a little longer, however he had to be up early as he has a very busy day." she told Elena.

"He has?" Elena asked innocently, although Damon had told her the night before.

"Well..." Bonnie looked around furtively as if anyone could hear, even though they were clearly alone. "There's a little bit of gossip, but you didn't hear it from me." she said.

"I never heard a thing." Elena smirked.

"Master Damon is sending Emily on a secret trip." Bonnie told her. "But as she's my sister, she told me what it was for." she told her.

"Go on." Elena asked excitedly.

"Emily is going to get the letters from Katherine's family in Atlanta." Bonnie told her.

"And this is important because?" Elena frowned, trying to look innocent.

"Master Damon burned all of Mistress Katherine's correspondence after she died." Bonnie told her. "He found something in them which upset him." she explained. "And I think I know what it was."

"It was who they were from wasn't it?" Elena asked as Bonnie nodded.

"But that's not all." Bonnie whispered. "Some of the letters were kept hidden from Master Damon which are in Atlanta. But most of these letters aren't from Master Stefan." she said.

"Who are they from?" Elena asked.

"Mistress Katherine used to tell Master Damon she was visiting a spa in Atlanta." Bonnie told her. "Although most of her trips to Atlanta were actually to Lousiville where she would meet up with Master Stefan. But she did sometimes go to Atlanta and she did visit a Spa of sorts." she cast her eyes down.

"What type of Spa?" Elena asked.

"The type which would give medicines to ladies who weren't having their monthly bleed." Bonnie told her.

Elena looked at her blankly. "I do not understand." she frowned.

"She was with child when she went to Atlanta, and when she left, she was no longer with child." Bonnie closed her eyes with sadness.

Elena clasped her chest. "I take it Damon doesn't know." she said as Bonnie shook her head.

"Emily was threatened by Mistress Katherine." Bonnie told her. "She said should Damon ever find out, she would take it out on Emily's family. Mistress Katherine went to the Spa at least four times. Then when she got with child this final time she wanted to keep it." she said.

"It was Stefan's baby wasn't it." Elena said, as Bonnie nodded.

"We don't have proof, but it is the only reason we can think that Mistress Katherine would keep this baby." Bonnie said. "Not only that, she and Master Damon hadn't seen each other for a while as he was away on business. During that time, Mistress Katherine went to see Master Stefan. I'm really worried Elena." Bonnie began to cry. "If Master Damon finds out, he might let Emily go, and she won't find another position because she lied to Master Damon." she sobbed.

"Why didn't she tell him after Katherine died?" Elena asked.

"We weren't sure if Mistress Katherine would still have someone ready to hurt us." Bonnie replied. "Not only that, but Master Damon was grieving. Emily couldn't hurt him even more." she hiccuped. "Emily only told me herself this morning. I'm scared."

"Would you like me to talk to Damon?" Elena asked.

Bonnie nodded. "He trusts you." she said. "He's going to be angry with all of us when he finds out." she said.

Elena wrapped her arm around Bonnie and passed her a handkerchief. "Don't worry. I'll make sure Damon understands." she assured her. "Trust me."

"Thank you." Bonnie smiled. "I think I should help you into your dress for the day. Maybe if I make you look extra beautiful, Master Damon will look upon my family more kindly." she said. "Although he already in an exceptionally good mood. The best since the day he found out Mistress Katherine was with child." she lowered her eyes for a moment before looking at Elena mischievously. "And I think you are the one to put him in a good mood. This place is brighter when it is just you and him." she shrugged as Elena got up and headed off to the bathroom with her corset.

"I won't be long." she smiled and closed the door behind her.

Damon knew her wasn't going to like whatever information Emily brought back. He also knew Emily was aware of far more than she'd let ever let on. In the letters he'd burned Stefan had mentioned something about Emily being controlled by Katherine using whatever means possible. Damon also knew whatever Emily knew, Bonnie knew. They never hid anything from each other and would never expose the other. He'd hoped Emily might have said something about what she knew before she went on her trip to Atlanta, but she just agreed to go and kept quiet about what she knew. However if the was still under a threat, especially now Stefan was back, he appreciated she wouldn't dare say anything.

Damon had sent Bonnie to wake Elena as she'd clearly slept since their lovemaking this morning. He smiled as he thought back to how wonderful she'd felt in his arms, and despite her innocence, she'd been a revelation. Elena had been curious, which more than made up for lack of experience. It was wonderfully refreshing, considering all of the women he'd had sexual relations with, had been experienced when he met them, including Katherine.

The difference was what Elena had shown was that she was curious about him. She may not have been overly familiar with a man's body, but it was more than just skin deep, more than just pleasure. Wanting to explore each other was about two people who were in love and were committing their souls to each other for all eternity, which was the most wonderful feeling Damon had ever experienced in his entire life.

The whole experience had left Damon in an extremely good mood, but unable to return to sleep. His bed had felt too large and lonely once she'd left and he dreaded the day Stefan returned as she would not be able to return to his bed until he was able to find out what his brother had been up to. Therefore as soon as he heard movement in the house, he got up and called Emily and Bonnie into a meeting. Emily was to go to Atlanta to retrieve all of Katherine's correspondence and for the time being, Bonnie would take on some of Emily's duties, but leave enough time for her to deal with Elena's basic needs.

Breakfast was waiting for Elena when she got downstairs, although it would not be long before they had dinner, therefore she ate lightly and quickly. While she'd been getting ready and having breakfast she'd had an idea which she needed to put to Damon. But first she needed to discuss the Bonnie and Emily situation with him. She waited until he had finished his final interview before going to see him in his study. Elena knocked on the door and he called her in. the moment she saw him her heart lurched and her stomach fluttered.

"What a pleasant surprise." Damon smiled as Elena turned the key to the door behind her. "I take it this is something which cannot wait." he said.

Elena cast her eyes down. "I do not wish to have this discussion with you, but I must." Elena told him, causing his heart to sink.

"Are you having second thoughts?" he asked, his eyes looking desperately sad.

"Why would I have second thoughts?" Elena frowned. "I think I made my position last night, very clear." she smiled.

Damon sighed a sigh of relief, before realizing whatever Elena was here to discuss was something else, and he might not like what he was about to hear.

"Sit." he said, gesturing to the chair opposite, as Elena nodded and sat down. "What is your concern?" he asked.

Elena took a deep breath. "Promise me you won't be angry." she said.

"If I don't know what this is about, I can't be completely certain that won't be the case." Damon frowned as it dawned on him whatever Elena had to tell him was really bad. "But I promise to try not to be." he agreed.

"I doubt you will be able to offer more than that." Elena cast her eyes down.

"What is so bad that you are so concerned about telling me?" Damon asked.

"Bonnie came to see me this morning." Elena started.

"I told her to wake you." Damon nodded.

"She told me something while she was with me, and asked me to speak to you on her behalf." Elena said.

A look of anger briefly crossed Damon's face. Bonnie was not usually one to shy away from telling the truth to Damon, no matter how bad. Therefore by asking Elena to speak to Damon on her behalf meant whatever she was going to tell him was going to probably be as bad as it was going to get. However, he was more angry with Bonnie for asking Elena to tell him than whatever information could possibly be revealed to him.

"Go on." Damon said with a hint of trepidation in his voice.

"Emily is already partially aware of some of the contents of the correspondence which you have sent her to retrieve." Elena told him. "But I need to explain a few things first. Emily was under instructions not to discuss Katherine's business with anyone. Apparently Katherine was threatening her." she said.

"I already suspected Katherine and Stefan had forced Emily to keep quiet in some way." Damon told her. "One of the letters from Stefan had hinted as much." he said, to which Elena breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm guessing the information she was keeping to herself was fairly bad." he said sadly as Elena nodded. "Go on." he sighed.

"Emily only told Bonnie this morning what she knew." Elena said. "I think Bonnie is scared of how upset you are going to be, with Emily, with her, with Stefan and with Katherine." she told him.

"Bonnie shouldn't have asked you to talk to me on her behalf." Damon said.

"It was my idea." Elena told him. "That way we can discuss another matter which I do not wish to discuss in front of Bonnie. One that is very much related to the topic at hand." she said.

"Go on." Damon shook his head.

"I don't know how much you know about Katherine's trips to Atlanta." Elena said. "Some of them were to Atlanta to visit her family among other things. The other times she went to Louisville to meet with Stefan." she said.

"I know she didn't always go to Atlanta." Damon told her. "I didn't know it was Louisville. The letters referred to LV, but I didn't know what that meant." he said. "I know she was meeting with Stefan and they were having...relations." he said.

Elena nodded. "I didn't expect that to come as a surprise to you." she said. "It is her trips to Atlanta which are the ones you don't want to hear, but are what you should know." she lowered her eyes.

"Why? What was happening in Atlanta which could be worse than what she and Stefan were doing in Louisville?" Damon asked.

"Katherine was visiting a Spa." Elena said uncomfortably. "A special kind of Spa. One which helped women with certain problems." she said.

"What type of problems." Damon frowned.

"Problems with their monthlies." Elena told him.

"Why would Katherine have problems?" Damon asked. "Is this why she was having difficulty being with child, but didn't want to tell me?" he asked.

"Not that type of problem." Elena said. "She was having problems which would prevent her from having her monthlies for about nine months." Elena swallowed and closed her eyes, waiting for the penny to drop.

"She was..." Damon couldn't bring himself to say the words, as Elena looked up at him and nodded sadly. "How many times?" he asked, his voice struggling to speak.

"Emily believes it to be four times." Elena told him. "I don't think she can be entirely certain as she suspects some of trips to Atlanta which were genuinely to see her family." she said.

"She destroyed four of our children." Damon breathed deeply. "So why not the..." he stopped. "It wasn't mine was it?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "I don't think so." she said. "It was already a suspicion I had before Stefan and I came here." she told him. "I saw some of the letters Katherine wrote to Stefan, although he caught me before I got very far. It was the first time he beat me." Elena lowered her eyes. "I never looked for them again." she said quietly. "I presumed you also suspected, but like me couldn't be sure. But she kept that baby and not the others for a reason. Bonnie believes Katherine got with child while you were away for a few weeks." Elena said. "Does that mean anything to you?" she asked.

"The doctor always thought Katherine was large for when she was expecting." Damon frowned. "But that would make her a month further along than she was supposed to be." he narrowed his eyes. "When she went to Atlanta that last time, she wouldn't have been far off expecting. She shouldn't have been going to Chicago, the journey would have been too much for her." his voice began to get louder. "Why would she risk going to Chicago when she knew she could give birth any time? I didn't want her to go as I thought it would be too risky." he said.

"Maybe Katherine wanted to give birth in Chicago." Elena suggested.

"What about you and I?" Damon frowned. "How were they expecting to deal with us?"

"We know they were planning something." Elena said. "Maybe this was what their plan was in about." she said.

"They would need us both out of the picture." Damon said.

"No they wouldn't." Elena disagreed. "They would need you out of the picture. If Stefan and I weren't married, and something happened to you, then the wedding would have had to have been postponed. Katherine would have had to have had the baby in Chicago and Stefan would have had to take her back to Mystic Falls, leaving me behind." she said.

"You think they were planning to kill me?" Damon asked.

"Had you changed your will so that your child would inherit everything?" Elena asked.

"I was in the process of doing it." Damon told her. "But I couldn't until the child was born, just in case there were any problems." he said. "But this is all circumstantial. We can't prove anything." he said.

"The letters from Atlanta are a start." Elena said. "We could always try and find the letters Stefan Katherine sent to Stefan." she suggested.

"Is that why you wanted to discuss this instead of Bonnie?" Damon asked.

Elena nodded. "She doesn't suspect anything more than the pregnancy. But if Stefan was behind the attack on Bob and Nancy, then he's still intending to take the business from you." she said.

"You think he's still trying to kill me?" Damon frowned as Elena nodded. "But why would he try and kill you? Katherine is dead. I was there when she died. I was there when they removed our...sorry, the child from her after she had gone to see if they could save it, but the baby, well she was already dead." he closed his eyes as Elena got up and drew the curtains.

"I don't care if people talk." Elena said. "You need privacy right now." she walked over to him and bent down to look at him.

"But why is Stefan trying to kill you?" Damon shook his head. "It makes no sense. He does not want you to have his child, he potentially wants you dead. He already beats you and forces himself..." he gulped, trying to forget the things Stefan did to Elena. "It is I who should want my brother dead, not the other way around. But I would give him the business if he would grant you a divorce. I have my own businesses which he has no knowledge of. They had nothing to do with father of the Salvatore fortune. We could leave and let him have what he wants, then we would all be happy." he said.

Elena put her hand on Damon's knee. "But that way he wins. And who knows what he has planned. Would you risk him ruining all of this?" she asked. "And what if he terrorizes someone else?" she asked. "Because he will need another woman to have his child. One I suspect he may care about a little more than me." she sighed. "We are both victims in all of this mess. But unless we know he was behind the fire, there is nothing we can do. He has not exactly broken the law, because he never actually got around to attempting to kill you." she said.

Damon frowned. "I believe he killed our father." he said. "Father fell down the stairs and broke his neck, apparently drunk. But father was never drunk enough to be so careless. Stefan and Katherine were in the house at the time and both heard it happen. Nobody saw him fall not even the servants. That was when Stefan began to drink heavily. Or so I thought." Damon frowned. "He disappeared for a while and came back, claiming to be sober. Not only that he said he'd found god and had decided to become a minister. He'd been in discussions with someone from the church about training and had already secured a position, where at the end of his training he would be ordained." he said. "Maybe he needed a position which would make him seem untouchable by the law. Nobody would suspect the Pastor of doing anything untoward." he said.

"We can't accuse him of anything right now." Elena said. "Not without proof. But if you are right, this is a hanging offense. Could you really condemn him to death?" she asked.

"If what we believe is true, he has already been involved in with the deaths of at least three people." Damon started. "And he's plotting both yours and mine. I do not want to let him hang, but he is possibly a very dangerous man. If he was threatening..." he stopped. "Emily can't be allowed to go to Atlanta yet. Its not safe. Stefan has already threatened her, if he gets wind of this he'll carry out his threats." he said as panic flashed across his face. "I need to stop her." he said, getting up quickly. "Go find Bonnie. Tell her to gather her family." Damon held Elena's arms. "I'm going after Emily. Both Emily and Bonnie's lives could be at risk. I need to know what Emily knows and whether she still thinks Bonnie's life is still in danger. Therefore Bonnie needs to be prepared to put on the performance of her life and to pretend I've let her go." he said.

"You want me to tell her the truth?" Elena asked.

"Selectively." Damon explained. "I don't want her to know more than she already does, but she must understand that I fully understand Emily's predicament and I'm not holding either of them accountable. However I need to assess the risk to them before I can proceed." he said. "I don't want Bonnie to have to know more than she already does, but she's bright enough to put things together by herself. She may start to figure things out." he grimaced.

"I'll talk to her." Elena agreed.

"Emily only left an hour ago. She's in a carriage and won't have gotten far. I can catch up with her in ten minutes." Damon said. "Tell Bonnie to pack her things and then wait for me in the study." he said.

Damon turned to leave, but stopped and turned around, pulled Elena into his arms and kissed her. "I love you." he smiled as he rested his head against hers.

"I love you too." Elena smiled back. "Now go make sure Emily is safe." she said as Damon turned and left the room.

 **Wow, thank you all for your wonderful reviews, I am completely blown away with the response so far to this story. It really warms my heart and considering this is my first attempt at an AU AH, gives me confidence to try other types of stories in future. To those who have taken the time to read this story thank you so much. All of your reviews, likes and follows are wonderful.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Please forgive me for the really cheesy line, but I couldn't help myself. ;)**

 **I needed to ensure this chapter finished at the appropriate point, which means it is a little shorter than the others.**

 **Guest**

 **Katherine is 100% dead. She's never coming back.**

 **I hope you like it.**

Elena was not looking forward to having her discussion with Bonnie. Damon had already left by the time Bonnie made her way upstairs to Elena's room. When she came inside after being told to enter, the first the Elena noticed were Bonnie's red rimmed eyes, signaling she'd been crying. Elena knew she had to be careful with what she said, but at least she knew she could somewhat put Bonnie's mind at ease.

"Sit down Bonnie." Elena said as she gestured to the chair opposite where Elena was sat.

Bonnie sat down and sniffed, taking out the handkerchief Elena had given her earlier and wiped her nose. "I'm sorry for crying Elena." Bonnie apologized. "But I just heard Master Damon has had Matilda readied as he had to urgently go out. He's going after Emily isn't he?" she asked as Elena nodded.

"But its not for what you think it is." Elena said. "Damon needs to bring her back as soon as possible." she told her."If indeed Katherine did threaten Emily there's a chance someone would know about it and they would not want Damon to see any of Katherine's correspondence in Atlanta." she continued. "We don't know if Katherine's threat was real or not. But Damon did not know about this threat. If he did, he wouldn't have let Emily go to Atlanta. Not like this." she said.

"So he's not letting us go?" Bonnie frowned.

Elena took a deep breath. "I doubt Emily will be able to continue working here for the time being." she said as Bonnie's face dropped. "It doesn't mean Damon is letting her go. He is protecting her." she reassured Bonnie, who looked confused.

"What did he say?" Bonnie asked.

"He understands the situation Emily was in." Elena told her. "She knew some important information which could be dangerous if it was known Damon knew about it." she said. "He wants those letters, but if they are indeed explosive in content, then whoever is looking after them won't just hand them over. Not without something bad happening."

"Why?" Bonnie asked. "Katherine is dead."

Elena thought quickly, she couldn't implicate Stefan just yet, when an idea popped into her head. "Just because Katherine was the one who made the threat, doesn't mean she was the one behind the threat." she said.

"Who else could it be?" Bonnie narrowed her eyes, as if she were starting to put the pieces together.

"It could be the Spa." Elena suggested. "Should Damon get his hands on those letters, they would be in a lot of trouble with the law." she said. "I don't know what the punishment is, but it is probably bad." she nodded her head, when she had an idea, but decided to wait until Damon returned before discussing it with anyone. "They wouldn't want anyone to know about what they do. I'm even surprised Katherine kept the correspondence." she said. "They could be very damaging." she added, almost convincing herself the Spa could be behind the threats.

"How would they know if they had been taken?" Bonnie asked.

"We don't." Elena replied. "But we can't take the risk that anyone here would know about what Katherine did." she said.

"Do you think Master Stefan knew?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't know." Elena said honestly. "He's a man of the church, he wouldn't condone such behavior."

"May I have permission to speak freely?" Bonnie asked.

"Of course." Elena nodded.

"Master Stefan is a man who preaches abstinence from alcohol, yet he drinks it all of the time." Bonnie said defiantly. "He forces himself on you, he lies about how to make a baby, and he beats you. He had relations with his brother's wife while he was courting you. I do not think he can be truly considered a godly man." she stuck her nose in the air.

Elena sighed. "I know Bonnie." she agreed. "But he is an ordained minister of the church, we have to assume that he would abide by some beliefs of god. As we know, all men are sinners." she added.

"Master Stefan does not deserve a good woman like you." Bonnie said. "And you don't deserve a man like him. You would be better with someone like Master Damon. He would take care of you proper." she stated, nearly causing Elena to choke with shock. She was glad Bonnie wasn't aware of how well Damon was taking care of her only a few short hours ago, however somehow Elena suspected Bonnie might be slightly less judgmental about her and Damon.

"Bonnie." Elena shook her head. "You can't say things like that. Stefan isn't here to defend himself." she said.

"With his fists?" Bonnie said angrily. "Like he does with you? We all know he hurts you. We've heard you cry." she added as Elena looked down.

"That is between myself and my husband." Elena said quietly. "I think this conversation is over." she added.

Bonnie got up and started to walk to the door then stopped and turned back to Elena. "How do we know Master Stefan wasn't behind the threat on Emily?" she asked.

"We don't." Elena shook her head. "Just don't mention your fears to Master Damon yet. We need facts before we can come to any conclusions." she said, when she heard the sound of hooves outside. Elena stood up and looked out of the window to see Damon astride Matilda, and a carriage coming up the driveway. "Damon has returned. He is expecting us in his study." Elena said as she and Bonnie left her bedroom and went to wait for Damon in his study.

Elena and Bonnie had been waiting in the study in nervous silence for around five minutes before Damon turned up with Emily. Elena noticed the shutters were shut once more, probably to make sure nobody witnessed what was about to take place. Damon closed the door before sitting down in his chair and gesturing for Elena, Bonnie and Emily to also sit. When they were finally ready Damon addressed them all.

"I have decided to send Emily to Richmond." Damon said as Elena, Bonnie and Emily all looked at each other quizzically. "I own a number of businesses, some are in Richmond. I have a house where you can live, and you can work to keep an eye on my properties. The house is slightly grander than you are used to, but for the time being I want you there. When the time comes I may still send you to Atlanta, but I will notify you by using other means. I need to know it is safe for you to go." he said.

"Why send Emily?" Elena asked.

"Pearl will not just hand Katherine's correspondence over to anyone." Damon told her. "The only people she knows by sight are Emily, Stefan and I." he said. "Neither I nor Stefan would go there in person to collect the letters." he said, however Elena could tell from Damon's voice that he might not be entirely convinced regarding that matter. "It would be too much of a risk, especially concerning the nature of their contents. However I do not want to be implicated in Katherine's reasons for her misdeeds regarding our children." he said, clearly trying not to sound too angry. "Colluding with the woman in question to take such terrible action is a crime which can lead to imprisonment. We all know how desperate I was for a child, but that might not be what information she relayed to the Spa. We need to find a way for Emily to be able to retrieve the letters without fear. I have an idea, however, we will need to wait a few weeks until the dust has settled from your dismissal before we can carry out my plan. I need time to work on the finer details." he explained.

"What is your plan Master Damon?" Emily asked.

"Firstly I will officially dismiss you." Damon told her. "You will leave town and head to Richmond. I will give you the address, keys and confirmation of your arrangement. As the gentleman who runs the businesses on my behalf, Pete, doesn't know who you are, I will give you a false identity, along with details of your working and living arrangements." he explained. "Do the job in Richmond until I send word of what I want you to do." he said. "I will provide you with a carriage at the end of town, heading west. Unfortunately you will have to walk until then. I will make this worth your while." he assured her with a smile.

Emily smiled nodding her head. "Who will you send?" she asked.

"Enzo." Damon replied. "Pete has some men who can protect you when you go to Atlanta. Pete is one of my most trusted men and very discrete. You will be safe with him around." Damon smiled. "In the meantime, Bonnie will move into your lodgings as befitting the main housekeeper, and will take over your role." he said.

"What about my position with Mistress Elena?" Bonnie asked.

"You will be able to do both." Emily reassured Bonnie. "I was able to do it with Mistress Katherine and when I ran the house, apart from the times I were away. I just made sure some of the maids had an extra duty." she said.

"Is everybody clear with their roles?" Damon asked.

"What about me?" Elena frowned.

"We will discuss the rest after this meeting." Damon smiled at Elena, causing Bonnie and Emily to glance at each other with a knowing smile. "Emily, I'm sorry about what I am about to say and do." he said.

"Go ahead." Emily nodded.

"Emily, I need you to pack your things and leave." Damon shouted, standing up and banging his fist on the desk, causing all three women to jump. "Get out of this study, I'm giving you one hour to pack your things and get out. I suggest you leave town as I will make damned well sure you never work in Mystic Falls again." he snarled so realistically, even Elena felt a little afraid, however that was short lived when Damon looked at them all apologetically.

Emily seemed to understand the situation perfectly and started to pretend to sob and fled the room. Damon then turned to Bonnie.

"I am allowing you to take her place, but if I find out Emily was covering for you and you were in on this, you and your family will be following your sister. Do you understand me?" he shouted.

"Yes." Bonnie said loudly, also beginning to sob.

"Stop sniveling. I will give you the hour to help your sister pack so you can move into her lodgings, then I want you back to work." he commanded.

"Yes Master Damon." Bonnie sniffed, before leaving the room.

When they'd left, Damon sat back down and sighed. "I never want to have to do anything like that again." he said.

"But you might?" Elena asked.

"I think I might have to do a few things that I won't like." Damon cast his eyes down.

"Do you want me to look for the letters?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "We can't let anyone know we're searching for them, so I say we go to bed early tonight. But instead of spending the night how I'd prefer, we search your room for the letters." he suggested.

"I could retire for a little while before supper, but look for them then." Elena offered. "If I find them it means we might still get some of the night to ourselves." she suggested.

Damon shook his head. "I don't know. What we find out might be a little upsetting." he said. "Ugh! I am so tense right now." he complained.

Elena nodded and stood up. "I have an idea." she smiled and walked over to Damon's chair and stood behind him. "My father wouldn't let me know much about medicine, but he did show me this because he used to get me to do it for him." she told him. "Take off your jacket." Elena instructed as Damon did as he was told. "And your vest." she said.

"If you wish to see me in a state of undress, all you have to do is ask." Damon joked.

"Damon." Elena chided him as he removed his vest, meaning he was just left with his shirt on. "I'm just going to give you a massage." she said.

"Why would your father teach you how to massage?" Damon asked as she began to kneed his neck.

"It can help with when someone injures themselves playing sports." Elena told him. "He felt it may come in useful should I have children and they happened to be little rascals who enjoyed climbing trees and would heaven forbid, hurt themselves." she laughed. "It helps relieve the injury pain, but it also helps with tension." she told him.

"Oh I'm aware of massages." Damon nodded. "But not like this." he said.

"What type of massage?" Elena asked.

"You are too innocent to know." Damon laughed. "Although maybe one day I can show you." he said devilishly.

"I think I will like that." Elena smiled as she lowered her mouth to Damon's ear. "Although I'd prefer it sooner rather than later." she whispered.

"We shall see." Damon told her. "But for now we need to find those letters." he said.

"I'll look before supper, and if I haven't found them by then, we can pretend to retire early and continue with our search." Elena said. "Are there any hiding places you know of in the bedroom?" she asked.

"There are some loose floorboards." Damon told her. "And behind the picture of the horse there is a small secret cupboard which is designed to store jewelry." Damon told her. "Stefan will know of all of those places, so they should be where you start to look first." he said. "Nobody can know what we are doing." he whispered.

"I know." Elena nodded. "I shall go search the room now." she told him. "That way, the sooner I find them, the sooner we find out what Katherine had to say. The sooner we know more about what was really going on between them." she said.

"I will ask for supper to be made ready a little earlier, like last night." Damon said. "You go look, and I will ask for it to be readied for in two hours. That gives us time to find them." he stood up.

Elena wrapped her arms around Damon's neck. "These letters are going to hurt you more than they will hurt me." she said.

"I know." Damon nodded. "But, my relationship with Katherine was as much of a lie as yours is with Stefan." Damon said. "I did my grieving for her after she died. But now I have met you, and ironically, she might be the key for me to spend the rest of my life with you." he smiled and kissed her.

Elena left Damon in his study to begin his plans for Emily. He had stated his reason for dismissing Emily was for stealing. Some would have chopped Emily's hands off for such a crime, but Damon was known to be soft with his staff and would never do anything to physically hurt them. He'd once had a maid steal from him and he'd sent her away from Mystic Falls, with word sent around about her being a poor employee. It was believed if Damon Salvatore would fire someone, they must be poor as he was such a tolerant man. Nobody in Mystic Falls would ever hire someone who had been dismissed by Damon, regardless of the reason.

Once Elena reached her room, she locked the door and began to search for the letters. The first place she looked was the small cupboard behind the painting of the horse. The painting was large and heavy, but she managed to move it to one side. However the cupboard inside held nothing. Once the painting was back in place, Elena knelt down and started to feel for the loose floorboards. She found two, but there was nothing inside but dust, by the time she found the third empty one she was ready to give up. However something under the bed caught her eye. One of the floorboards was slightly raised and was obvious to the naked eye.

Due to her dress, Elena knew she couldn't get underneath the bed, therefore she would have to wait until she and Damon had finished supper. It was obvious the floorboard had been intentionally lifted and not put back correctly. Elena got back up and brushed, dress down and rearranged any stray hairs which were out of place. She checked the time noting supper was about to be called. Happy she knew where the letters were, she left the room and headed downstairs to join Damon in the parlor before their final meal of the day.

"I've found the letters." Elena whispered. "Well I think I have." she said.

"What do you mean?" Damon asked.

"There is a loose floorboard under the bed which is raised." Elena told him. "I couldn't reach it, but I can see it without needing to feel whether it is loose of not." she said.

"That one is not usually visible." Damon agreed. "He must be storing something of significance there." Damon agreed. "Let us just hope it isn't a number of whiskey bottles." he said.

"We can only hope." Elena nodded.

They ate their supper in relative silence, both knowing that what they were about to do could be upsetting and potentially have huge repercussions relating to Stefan and Elena's marriage. Therefore, when it was finally time to retire, they were both nervous as to what they were to find.

Elena retired first with Bonnie helping her to get ready for bed. Bonnie worked in silence, with neither girl not knowing what to say to the other. Bonnie knew Elena was keeping secrets from her, which may have an impact on what was to come for Emily, but she was not in a position to question whatever this was. She also knew Damon and Elena were up to something. She had picked up one of Master Damon's night shirts that morning and could smell Elena's scent all over it. She could even smell Elena on his pillow and sheets. Bonnie suspected Elena had slept in Damon's bed, and considering the state of the sheets, they'd done more than just sleep. Not that Bonnie disapproved, she was all for Elena finding a way out of her marriage with Stefan and marrying Damon, but she just hoped that wasn't the only reason Damon was putting Emily's life in danger.

Once Bonnie was finished, Elena waited about ten minutes before Damon knocked on her bathroom floor. He was dressed in a night shirt and nothing else. The sight of him like that sent heat straight to the pit of Elena's stomach, but she knew she had to ignore the feeling. They had an important task at hand, far more important than any physical gratification, although they did kiss as if man and wife.

When Damon reached the bedroom he stomach face down on the floor and pulled himself under the bed as far as he could until he reached the loose floorboard. They'd agreed to do it this way as moving the bed would alert the servants of something happening in the room, to which they would come and check Elena was fine.

Damon was under the bed for only a few moments before Elena heard his voice.

"You were right Elena." he whispered. "They're here, and there are a lot of them." he said as he pushed himself out from underneath the bed with a large amount of envelopes tied together with a red ribbon. Damon untied the ribbon and held out a stack of the letters to Elena, who took them. "Shall we?" Damon asked as he opened the envelope and began to read the contents.

 **Thank you everyone for your wonderful reviews. They are very appreciated and truly make my day. I always endeavor to reply to them via pm. If it is a guest review, and there is a question, and I can answer it, I promise I will.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. They also help motivate me to get the following chapters out quicker.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **I doubt anyone will be surprised to find this chapter is a little different. This is the closest we will get to hear from Katherine (may she rot in hell for breaking Damon's heart!). ;)**

 **Guest**

 **I suspect the story will be around 30 chapters. But that is only a guess.**

Damon took a deep breath as he opened the letter. His eyes scanned over the page as he swallowed and started to shake, before putting it down. Elena put her hand on Damon's knee to calm him before taking the letter from his hand.

"You lay on the bed, and I shall read them to you." she said as Damon moved up the bed and sat up against the headboard. "It will be easier for me as you actually believed Katherine loved you for years. I never had that luxury with Stefan." she sighed.

"You don't have to do this." Damon said.

"Yes I do, and you need to hear what she said. Maybe everything will make more sense." Elena insisted.

Damon nodded and lay down on the bed as Elena picked up the letter which he'd started to read and put down. Elena opened the letter and began to read out loud.

 _October 21st 1864_

 _My Darling Stefan,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health._

 _Thank you for your correspondence in regards to your whereabouts. I was concerned for you when you left with such haste after your fathers will was read. Can we be certain this was his final will and testament? You told your father had informed you he had amended it. Now I will be forced to marry your insolent, Union sympathizing, coward of a brother who will no doubt bore me to death with his love for horses._

 _He has no tolerance for fun anymore since inheriting the plantation. There is barely a drop of alcohol in the house as it is only to be allowed at mealtimes and on special occasions. Damon thinks his romantic gestures with fancy gowns and jewels will fool me, but I am not an idiot. All he sees when he looks at me is a means to providing him with an heir. I believe you were right when you advised me he doesn't love me for me, he loves that I can give him children. Therefore I will do my utmost to not provide him any, no matter what the cost. However will I survive his tediousness?_

 _My only hope of sanity is to think of you. Once Damon and I are married, I will think of you every time I have to perform my wifely duties. I have already written to Pearl in Atlanta who is looking out for a good Spa to enable me to rid myself of any problems which should arise with my upcoming marriage to your idiot brother. I so wish it were you instead. At least that way I could be sure of your love as you have already proven to what lengths you will go to be with me. Actions speak louder than words and gifts._

 _I wish you would reconsider your decision regarding attending the wedding, although I understand why you have chosen not to attend. You must continue your calling with the church for the time being. You need to earn Damon's forgiveness, otherwise we will never be able to be together. You also need to earn his trust once more as I am currently doing. He says he has forgiven me for our little affair, but I do not believe him. Not that it truly matters as he only wants me for bearing his children. I suspect he will probably visit the whores within a year of marriage after he becomes bored._

 _If we are to see each other, we need to formulate a plan. It will need to be believable. You are the master of coming up with genius ideas, therefore I shall leave it to you to find a solution to our unfortunate loneliness. Then we will be able to sporadically comfort one another until we can find a more permanent solution._

 _I miss you dearly. I miss the touch of your hand on my skin. The way you kiss me. What I would give to feel your lips and tongue on my body at this moment, but alas it cannot be. However, one day we will soon be together my love. I promise._

 _Yours forever_

 _K_

Elena looked up and saw the tears in Damon's eyes. She quickly got up and sat beside him, taking him into her arms, wrapping them tightly around him while he sobbed into her chest. Katherine's words about Damon had been particularly cruel. He knew their marriage had been a sham, but clearly he was not aware of Katherine's hatred towards him.

While he sobbed, Elena stroked his hair and rested her cheek on his head, while making hushing sounds to help soothe him. Nobody deserved the cruel words Katherine had said about Damon. Certainly not Damon himself who was such a kind and wonderful man. Eventually Damon's sobs subsided and he pulled away and looked up at her.

"You should not have had to witness that." he said, looking embarrassed. "Katherine was right, I am an idiot and a fool for believing she could love me."

"No Damon, I did need to see it." Elena corrected him. "You loved her deeply and her words were from a woman with a heart of ice. How could anyone not love a man as wonderful as you?" she frowned. "Did Katherine even know you?" she asked.

"She knew my past." Damon told her. "My youth was not one which would be befitting of a gentleman." he admitted. "But, I never visited the whorehouse once I was introduced to Katherine as my possible future wife, although I admit I had visited a number of establishments on previous occasions. However they were always of the highest class." he added, causing Elena to giggle. "Why are you laughing at that?" Damon frowned.

"If when we are married, you do ever feel the need to visit the whorehouse. Please forewarn me. Maybe I could be your whore for the night." she teased.

"What on earth gave you that idea?" Damon asked, shocked by Elena's suggestion.

Elena blushed, believing she may have gone too far. "You told me you could make me feel like a wanton woman. I thought that was what you meant." she looked down embarrassed.

"You could never be a whore." Damon whispered, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "Although that does not mean we cannot pretend." he smirked.

"I think that sounds like a marvelous idea." Elena giggled. "Now back to the letters." she said in a more serious tone, to which Damon's face fell. "Do not worry, I will be selective in what I read out to you. I will only read what seems possibly important." she said.

"Thank you." Damon smiled gratefully.

"But can I just ask, why do you think Katherine believed you only wanted her for an heir?" Elena asked.

Damon frowned. "I have absolutely no idea where she got that notion from, other than the letter suggesting Stefan put it into her head. Maybe that is why she hated me. Well that and me being a Union sympathizer." he said.

Elena narrowed her eyes. "A Confederate supporter who also happened to be madly in love with Stefan and hated you." she shook her head. "I would like to say I am already beginning to despise this woman and everything she stood for." she frowned. "And although I disagree with her political beliefs, I do believe there is more to what happened with her and Stefan. In fact I believe he may have fooled her, and therefore in turn she fooled you. When did you find out about Katherine and Stefan?" Elena asked.

"Stefan told me before we were wed, that he and Katherine had been involved in relations of an intimate nature." Damon told her.

"And you still married her?" Elena asked.

"She told me Stefan had heard I had been killed in battle and he comforted her." Damon explained. "If I had been killed, Katherine would have been expected to wed my brother. Which was why she had no shame in engaging in sexual relations with him. But after I saw she had continued with Stefan behind my back after we were married, then I realized it was all a lie." he said.

"Maybe it wasn't." Elena suggested. "Maybe he was manipulating her to hate you." she said.

"What makes you think that?" Damon asked.

"I am married to him." Elena reminded him. "He manipulated me, lied to me, all because he needed me for something. Who is to say Katherine wasn't aware of Stefan's lies?" she suggested.

"But Katherine found out I was alive." Damon shook his head.

"But the damage was already done." Elena told him. "He needed her to fall in love with him. Once she had, I do not believe she was able to love you and would possibly believe everything Stefan told her. He can be very convincing. Remember, he has even fooled the church." she reminded him.

"This does not mean I can forgive her." Damon shook his head.

"And I do not expect you to." Elena agreed. "But I do not believe it possible she developed her hatred for you without outside influence." she said. "If Stefan was intent on getting his hands on the plantation, he would need a wife and heir. And he wanted Katherine. To do that he needed to charm her and influence her feelings for you. You were away at war and could not defend yourself."

"I still cannot forgive her." Damon insisted.

"I am not asking you to, as her words are unforgivable." Elena agreed. "But when I begin to read the letters once more, it is something we may need to take into consideration." she said as Damon nodded in agreement. Elena took a good look at Damon for a moment before kissing him deeply. She needed to tell him how much she loved him after hearing such awful words against him from the woman he had once loved.

"What was that for?" Damon asked as Elena pulled away.

"It is my way of telling you..." Elena started. "If all we have is your little hut, and it was just us. I would still want to marry you." she stroked his cheek. "Because I do love you. I just need you to know that." she smiled.

"I love you too." Damon smiled back as he kissed Elena chastely on the lips, before pulling away. "Now that I have had my heart healed by the most incredible woman in the world. A woman who is making me feel like the luckiest man to ever walk the earth. I believe it is time to get back to the letters." he said as Elena nodded in agreement and picked up the next one in the pile next to her.

Elena's eyes scanned the page reading to herself so she could selectively read the letter out to Damon without him being too insulted. She knew they were looking for clues as to what Stefan and Katherine had been up to. Most of the letter was a description of the wedding and all complaints about Damon, however she did find out tidbit of useful information. She cleared her throat to speak.

 _April 18th 1865_

 _My Darling Stefan,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health._

 _Thank you for your recent correspondence in regards to the idea of LV. I think it could work, and I have already contacted Pearl to look into some potential properties. They could provide an income if it ever comes to requiring one as I believe you shall be paid by the church for your work, which may even include lodgings._

 _As you have already suggested, I have already become homesick for Atlanta once more. I am already planning to pay Pearl a visit as she will have some practical advice with regards to my situation. She has already suffered with the same affliction and knows of a place where I can be remedied of my ailment._

 _Should any similar affliction come to pass which is your doing, I shall not take any remedial action. Damon will never know any different and will be ecstatic to have an heir. As much as he annoys me, I would not be able tell him the truth regarding this matter. It would put any chance of us being together at risk. As a result you would lose your position, and it is of the utmost importance you remain in that position. For whatever has to be done, you cannot ever be suspected being involved with any plans to end mine and Damon's marriage. Your perceived innocence in all of this must remain a priority._

Elena looked up. "Why would his innocence be a priority?" she frowned.

"Because if it was discovered he were up to something, it would affect him inheriting the plantation." Damon sighed. "They were planning on taking over as far back as just after our wedding." he shook his head.

Elena narrowed her eyes. "There is a big time gap between letters." she said as she flipped through the other letters. "Most of them are about every four weeks, but these two are six months apart, and it seems like there has been contact between them during that time. Yet there are no letters." she said. "Did she go away between these times?" she asked.

Damon shook his head. "No, but I did." he told her. "I went to Richmond on business a couple of times. I'm only there for a few days at a time. There would have been no time for her to go to Louisville or even Atlanta." he said.

"No, but Stefan could have been near Mystic Falls." Elena said.

"He wouldn't come here as he'd be noticed." Damon said. "But there are a few places nearby where they could stay for a night or two. When did you meet Stefan?" he asked.

"I first saw him in march 1866." Elena told him. "We met a month later in the local church. At first he barely acknowledged me and then he suddenly wanted to know me." she said. "I thought he didn't want people to know he knew my father."

"Maybe Stefan was coming here until they found somewhere appropriate in Louisville." Damon said.

"You think there's property there?" Elena asked and Damon nodded in response.

"The question is who does the property belong to? Katherine, which would mean me. Stefan or Pearl." he frowned. "There may even be more letters somewhere else as I doubt Stefan would bring everything here." he said.

"He had nowhere else to leave it." Elena said. "We were living with my father." she said.

"If he owns the property in Louisville, then there might be some of his things there." Damon said.

"Where would he have gotten the money from?" Elena asked.

"Father left him a decent inheritance." Damon told her. "I thought he'd wasted it all on alcohol." he admitted.

"I don't think he was drinking when we first met." Elena told him. "I used to think so, but now I'm not so sure. Maybe Katherine and the baby's death sent him spiraling into such deep despair, he could not find any other way but the bottle. It is not unheard of." she said.

"Maybe." Damon agreed. "So it appears some of the letters may be elsewhere." he said.

"We know there are letters in Atlanta. But now we know Louisville is also a possibility." Elena said. "How would we ever find out where their place in Louisville was?" she asked.

"I have people who can look into these matters." Damon smiled and nodded. "Maybe we should look for another letter which might have some significance." he said.

Elena nodded in agreement and continued to rifle through the letters. Most of them contained explicit details of their intimate lives and the things they wished to do when they saw each other again. Elena began to wonder how on earth Stefan managed to get Katherine with child only the once. Eventually she found a letter which sparked an interest in her own relationship with Stefan. She hoped it would shed some light with regards to why he chose her in the first place.

 _August 14th 1866_

 _My Darling Stefan,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health._

 _I have been thinking for a while regarding any suspicions Damon may have of my trips to Atlanta. Right now I believe he is completely oblivious to why I am going away for a few days every month. The fool thinks I would actually visit a Spa, although he did suggest the possibility of looking into opening one in Mystic Falls, which is why I believe we need to take action to ensure he is unaware of our meetings. This hurts my heart deeply to suggest such a thing, but I believe the time has come for you to look for a suitable bride. Of course you will never wed her, but the facade would be there for the time being. We discussed what we need from her, which is why you are in the perfect place to find a suitable would-be bride._

Damon frowned. "What does she mean about what they need from you?" he asked. "Did Stefan ask anything of you before you married him?"

"Nothing." Elena shook her head. "I'm as in the dark as you are." she said.

"This is what we are looking for." Damon told her. "Stefan did not dishonor his marriage vows with Katherine as she was already dead when you were married. We cannot use that against him should we have to simply go down the normal divorce route. Him beating you would be laughed at as he is a man of god and the only people to say otherwise are you, servants and me, who has a vested interest in your marriage being dissolved." he continued. "He and Katherine were clearly up to something." he frowned as sudden realization hit him. "Katherine knew she was pregnant." he said. "She told me in September, but we now know she was one month further into the pregnancy than she told me. The pregnancy triggered whatever plan they'd gotten cooked up." he said. "Obviously they couldn't implement it earlier because Katherine needed to be pregnant with Stefan's child and not mine." he said.

"So whatever they had planned for you was arranged before Katherine became pregnant but couldn't be put into action until she became pregnant." Elena nodded. "That explains why he ignored me and then suddenly changed his mind, apologized and told me he'd liked me all along, but he was just shy around women." she said.

"Whatever it is about you, is the key to their plan. They couldn't carry it out without you, or someone else like you." Damon sighed.

"What is so special about me?" Elena asked.

"Well to me you are the most wonderful woman in the world." Damon smiled as Elena slapped him playfully on his bare legs. "However I do not believe your beauty, kind heart and compassion were high up on their list of requirements." he said. "It was something else. I'm guessing you could have looked like a horse and he'd have married you."

"That could be perceived as an insult to most women Mr Salvatore, but in this context, I completely agree with the sentiment." Elena chided him with a look of jest in her eyes.

"Next letter." Damon told her, changing the subject. "I am increasingly feeling the need to discover your beauty once more for myself, but we must finish looking through these letters first." he said, pulling a face.

"I agree." Elena sighed, picking up the next letter.

 _November 3rd 1866_

 _My Darling Stefan,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health._

 _I would like to congratulate you on the announcement of your engagement to Miss Extremely Bland. She sounds absolutely perfect. Exactly the girl we needed for our plan. Especially as it meant you were able to give me the gift I needed for our plan. I tried to get hold of more of it in Mystic Falls,but I have limited supply. Now we have the extra amount, I have additional amounts for myself. It is hidden as if a perfume, Damon would never think to look for it there. He has been complaining with regards to my using it, so I have stopped taking it from the doctor here in Mystic Falls._

Damon and Elena looked at each other with shock. A huge clue had been revealed as to why Elena had been chosen, something was hidden in a perfume dispenser.

"Did you keep her perfume dispenser's?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "I put all of Katherine's things in Stefan's old room. I thought it would be more appropriate." he said bitterly.

"So we at least have a clue about something, although it may be nothing." Elena frowned. "Can you think of anything it could be?" she asked.

"Something she used, which has possibly come from you as a gift for her to share with me." Damon looked nonplussed. "I have no idea." he said.

Elena thought for a moment before checking the date once more. "I think I do." she said.

"What is it?" Damon asked.

"Laudanum." Elena replied.

"What makes you think that?" Damon asked.

"My father's supply went missing not long after Stefan began to court me." Elena told him.

"I remember you telling me." Damon frowned. "Do you think it may have been Stefan?" he asked.

"Stefan knew where my father kept his supply. We never thought to question a man of god." she said.

"Which I believe is the reason Stefan joined the church." Damon told her. "He could do things others would not, and he would be the last person people would accuse." he said.

"And possibly one of the reasons I was perfect was because my father was a doctor and could supply him with laudanum." Elena nodded. "Father stopped asking him to pay for it when we became engaged."

"He was getting it for Katherine." Damon said sadly.

"Why laudanum?" Elena asked. "Was Katherine using it a lot?" she asked as Damon nodded in reply.

"She was prescribed it on a regular basis." Damon told him. "Grams warned me about it, and when I confronted her she told me I was meddling, but she would try and stop unless the pain was unbearable." he said. "From what I can gather she hadn't been taking it for quite a while. I didn't pay for any prescriptions for laudanum." he said.

"I suspect that is what we will find in her perfume dispenser." Elena said.

"So they wanted someone close to a way of getting laudanum." Damon shook his head. "I knew she couldn't live without the stuff, almost like Stefan struggled with his alcohol issues. I should have known something wasn't right when she just stopped using it without any problems." he said.

"Why did she stop?" Elena ask.

"I had been asking her to stop for months before she was with child. Grams had told me of her concerns regarding the stuff. She thinks it's poison." Damon told her. "When Katherine told me about the pregnancy she stopped taking the stuff. I believed it was because she had been listening to me and wanted the best for our child. But she clearly didn't care. She did it to make me believe she was listening to me." he put his head in his hands. "I was such an idiot." he said.

Elena sat next to him on the bed. "No you weren't Damon. How were you to know she had a stolen supply in the house right under your nose?" she asked.

"I know." Damon sighed and rested his head against Elena's, who took his hand in hers.

"I have an idea." Elena said. "The last letter was November 3rd. Why don't we put the letters away and go back to your room. I could give you a massage, except this time without clothes. Maybe you could try giving me one." she smirked. "We can look through Katherine's things tomorrow. There might be some items there which once upon a time may have seemed completely innocent, but now they take on an entirely new meaning." she suggested.

Damon looked at her and smiled. "I agree. Let us call it an evening. We can find far more entertaining things to do with ourselves tonight." he grinned as he picked her up and carried her over to his room in his arms.

"What about the letters?" Elena giggled.

Damon dropped Elena on the bed. "You stay there. I'll be right back." he said, and with that he left the room.

 **Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. They are very much appreciated and cherished. It means a lot to know people are reading and enjoying the story and is a true motivator in me getting the chapters out on such a regular basis.**

 **Therefore, if you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me, correct my mistakes, allow me to engage and answer questions. I always endeavor to reply to reviews.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Warning for some potentially uncomfortable content.**

Elena waited for what seemed like forever sat on Damon's bed. He was so long, she was just about to go and find him when he rushed into the bedroom looking frantic.

"What is wrong?" Elena asked.

"Stefan is outside." Damon warned her. "You need to get to your room now." he said.

Elena didn't need to be told twice. She gave Damon a quick kiss on the lips and ran to her room, allowing Damon to lock the doors behind her. However, before he did she called out to him in a whisper. "Whatever he says or does. Do not stop him or intervene. Think of the long term. If he hurts me, so be it. The pain will be worth it." she said, and with that she closed her bedroom door and climbed into bed. Elena then closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep, all the while waiting for Stefan to make his dreaded appearance.

When Stefan reached the bedroom he stormed in, forcing Elena to pretend to have been woken up. There was no way she would ever have slept through the noise, and she knew from experience, Stefan's beatings would be worse if she pretended to sleep when she was in fact awake.

"Stefan." Elena said, her voice filled with fear. "We thought you would be back later in the week."

"I have only seen Bob's family so far." he complained. "I will be on my way to Nancy's family tomorrow. But I am sick and tired of not having a comfortable bed, and of eating stale food. And I am not doing my duty by you as a husband." he snarled.

Elena knew exactly what that meant. What had started out as the promise of a beautiful night of making love to Damon, was going to turn into the torture of having Stefan force himself upon her. However Elena knew what to expect from him. He'd done this to her enough times throughout their marriage for her to shut it out.

Stefan removed his trousers and pushed Elena's legs apart. Elena closed her eyes trying to pretend she were in a beautiful garden full of flowers. All the while she felt Stefan thrust himself inside her. This time however, Elena knew what it was like to be loved by a man. She knew what it was like to feel his lips and hands on her body, and although the end act was technically the same, it was completely different. Stefan was violating her body, whereas Damon had been healing her. Fortunately she soon heard Stefan grunt. Elena opened her eyes and saw him spill his filthy seed on her stomach. A sight which made Elena want to retch, however she stayed still.

"Leave it there." Stefan told her. "Just to remind you _who_ your husband is." he said, and with that he got changed and climbed into bed beside her. Within minutes he was fast asleep and snoring.

Elena rolled onto her side, facing away from Stefan as tears ran down her cheeks. Not only was she distraught from the torment Stefan had subjected her to, but she was terrified by Stefan's comment, as it had sounded as he knew what she and Damon were up to. Of course there was no way he could know anything. She and Damon had only done anything the previous night, and nobody would have had time to tell Stefan. Therefore it was impossible he were referring to her tryst with Damon. Instead Elena suspected he might believe she would assume the role of lady of the house while Stefan was away. A role which she could technically play, however Stefan would never allow it. The more and more Elena thought about it, the more she was able to console herself with that explanation. A thought which finally allowed her to go to sleep.

Suddenly Elena found herself in the Salvatore maze. Stefan was chasing her with a syringe, and Elena knew Damon was also somewhere in the maze with them. But Elena knew she had to keep Stefan away from Damon, and even make sure Stefan didn't even know Damon was in the maze with them, because if he did, Stefan would kill him with whatever was in the syringe. Elena called out Stefan's name, when she suddenly saw Old Sam, Damon's crow. She knew is Stefan saw it, he'd know Damon was also there. Elena realized her only option was to get out of the maze and hope Stefan chased her. Just as she saw the light to get out, Elena tripped over her skirt. She looked back and saw Stefan looming large over her, the syringe in his hand and an evil smile on his face.

"Stefan, please." she begged, cowering down and closing her eyes with terror, when she suddenly heard a loud banging.

Elena opened her eyes and saw she was back in her bedroom. She looked over to the other side of the bed and saw the crumpled mess Stefan had left, when she heard a knock on the door once more.

"Mistress Elena." came Bonnie's voice from the other side of the door.

"Come in Bonnie." Elena called out as the door opened and Bonnie walked in looking concerned.

"Are you alright Elena?" Bonnie asked, sounding concerned, familiarity returning once they were in private.

"What do you think?" Elena replied as Bonnie shook her head.

"Did he hurt you or force himself on you?" Bonnie asked.

"The second one." Elena whispered back.

"He deserves to go straight to hell for what he does to you." Bonnie said in a matter of fact voice. "However, you will be pleased to know he ate breakfast and left straight away." she told Elena. "Nancy's house is much further than Bob's, and the road isn't as direct. It'll take him more than twice the time to get there and back." she said. "And Nancy had a lot of family, so he'll be gone at least five days, maybe six if it's true about the storm coming in." she said.

"What storm?" Elena frowned.

"Old man Frank said there's heavy rain out near Nancy's place." Bonnie told her. "Real heavy." she smirked.

"Does Stefan know?" Elena asked.

"He never asked, so we never told him." Bonnie replied. Elena was about to question why, when she suddenly realized this meant an extra few days away from Stefan. She gave a sigh of relief at the thought. "Maybe Master Damon can help make you feel better." Bonnie smirked.

"I have no idea what you mean." Elena frowned.

"Mm-hmm?" Bonnie raised an eyebrow at Elena suspiciously. "Whenever you are ready to talk, I'm willing to listen. Until then my lips are sealed. And after then mind you." she smiled. "It's time for you to get up. Master Damon wants to take you riding today, just in case the storm hits Mystic Falls in the next few days." she said.

"Thank you for tell me Bonnie." Elena said as she headed towards the bathroom to remove the stain Stefan had left her with the night before.

Elena ate breakfast alone as Damon had things to attend to and had spent the time with Stefan. She changed into her riding dress and met Damon outside at the smaller stables, where he stood with both Matilda and Onyx, who appeared to be behaving himself for a change. Elena picked up her skirt and rushed over to Onyx, lavishing him with kisses and terms of endearment.

"Should I be jealous?" Damon asked as Elena quickly looked around to make sure nobody heard him.

"I'm not sure if I should say in front of him." Elena smiled as she nodded her head to the horse who snorted.

"I think we should get going." Damon told her as he helped her up onto her saddle. "I've brought a picnic, some books and some candles." he said. "I hope you like the Classics."

"Homer?" Elena asked as Damon nodded in reply. "I love it." she smiled as they set off towards the hut.

They rode in relative silence, not because they didn't want to talk, but because they preferred it this way. The quiet time allowed them to feel at one with nature and their horses until they reached their destination. Talk was always reserved for when they reached their destination and on the ride back. However today was more awkward than usual. Elena could tell Damon was upset, even though he had joked when he first saw her. That was his way of making small talk before the all important conversation they would have up at the hut.

Eventually they climbed the hill to the ridge where Elena could hear the waterfall, they dismounted their horses and Damon took Elena's hand, looking sheepish.

"I'm sorry." he said, clearly upset. "I should have done something last night."

"I told you not to." Elena chided him. "He didn't beat me, I have no bruises." she told him optimistically.

"No but he forced himself on you didn't he?" Damon asked as Elena nodded. "I was all ready to go down to the study and get my fathers gun and shoot him." he growled.

Elena took his hands. "No! Don not leave me alone like that!" she shouted. "I could not bear it if you were arrested by the Sheriff and were made to hang. Stefan would win. Don't you see that?" she pleaded. "I have endured his torture for over two years, and believe me, it was far worse in Chicago. We lived alone and he had nobody to stop him. Nobody saw what I was going through. I didn't have anyone to heal and comfort me. Now I have you. I could not bear it if anything were to happen to you. I would never be able to survive without you." she said as tears streamed down her eyes. "I love you Damon Salvatore, more than life itself. You will not hurt him, we will find another way!" she said defiantly.

Damon smiled sadly as he wiped the tears from her cheeks. "I felt like a failure last night." he rested his forehead against hers. "I wanted to rescue you."

"You were brave." Elena insisted. "We are in this together and we will do it the right way." she said. "A way where we do not have to feel guilty. And you did rescue me, in a way. I just thought of why I was enduring his torture, and it became worth it." she told him as he kissed her passionately on the lips. When they parted, Elena smiled. "I do believe we will have to make up for what we should have been doing last night. Maybe some healing kisses wouldn't go amiss." she suggested.

Damon's face fell. "I...I..." he started.

"You can't can you?" Elena asked. "He made me dirty in your eyes." she said, suddenly upset.

"No." Damon frowned. "I just didn't think you would be up to it today." he shook his head. "I don't know how much he hurt you."

"I closed my eyes and pretended I was in a garden." Elena told him. "It is what I do when he forces me." she explained. "Nothing has changed, he is doing exactly the same as he did before." Elena frowned as she remembered Stefan's words. "Although he did mention something about making sure I remembered exactly who my husband was." she cast her eyes down.

"What did he do?" Damon asked. Elena looked down at the ground, suddenly feeling embarrassed. "What did he do?" Damon asked once more, his voice getting louder.

"He made his mess on my stomach and wouldn't let me clean it off." she replied in a small voice.

"Do you think he suspects?" Damon asked, his face full of concern.

"At first yes." Elena replied. "But then I realized he meant I shouldn't act like the lady of the house while he was away. The servants may have made it seem like I was the lady of the house as they are beginning to treat me like that. However that role is only reserved for your wife. He would see it as me overstepping my boundary, and I suppose he would expect you to allow it as you knew about him and Katherine." she said.

"I suppose that makes sense." Damon agreed, taking her in his arms. "Of course I want to heal you." he whispered. "I just did not know whether you would want that so soon after." he said.

"Being loved by you is what keeps me mentally strong." Elena smiled. "Never think otherwise." she said, stroking Damon's cheek. "Now what about that picnic and Homer?" she asked.

"It's not exactly the Iliad." Damon frowned. "It is more of the letters." he admitted.

"When did you get them?" Elena asked.

"I took them this morning while you were at breakfast." Damon told her. "The servants would not be around at that time." he smirked as he retrieved the picnic basket and two blankets from Matilda.

Damon took Elena's hand and led her up to the the hill to the hut, where she lowered her head to get through the door, although there she had plenty of head height once inside. She removed her hat as Damon closed the door and placed one of the blankets on top of the mattress before helping Elena to sit down. Damon lit the candles and closed the material he'd used to cover the windows, giving the room a warm, ambient, cozy glow. Damon sat beside Elena and held her in his arms for a moment while she rested her head against his chest, taking in his comforting, masculine scent. She did not want to read the letters, she just needed Damon's arms around her to make her feel whole once more. But she knew the letters could prevent her from having to endure Stefan's torture for too much longer.

"I suppose we had better read more letters." Elena sighed.

"You do not sound enthusiastic." Damon said.

"My enthusiasm rests solely with the knowledge that these letters may allow me to be with you." she told him. "If it were not for that, I would not care to read them." sh shrugged.

"I completely agree." Damon said as he rested his cheek against her head while removing one of the letters.

"Did you look for the laudanum?" Elena suddenly asked.

"Not yet." Damon replied. "I felt it better to go through the rest of the letters before I searched for it. Who knows what else she has hidden." he said. "Something seemingly innocuous, which may turn out to be deadly." he suggested.

"You think she may have been out to poison you?" Elena frowned. "Wouldn't she have been caught?" she asked.

"I don't know what she was planning. But whatever it was, I suspect it was supposed to take place before your marriage to Stefan." Damon said. "That would have stopped the wedding."

"I would have postponed it." Elena agreed, wrapping her arms around Damon. "But you are still here, thank goodness. You are my savior." she lifted her head up and kissed him.

Once they parted from the kiss, Elena saw the heat of desire in Damon's eyes, something Elena fully understood as just his touch and scent had that effect on her. She remembered Bonnie's words regarding ripping Enzo's clothes off, and right at that moment, it was the only thing to go through her mind. Elena didn't care about the letters, they could wait, she needed Damon, who was clearly feeling the same way.

"You are eager." Damon said in a seductive voice.

"You have no idea." Elena laughed.

"Letters first." Damon insisted. "The sooner we find a way out of your marriage, the better. And as we discovered last night, our time might be limited. We thought we had all week, then Stefan came back out of the blue. Once you are out of that marriage and are with me, we will have all of the time in the world." he insisted. "We need to exercise patience." he added.

Elena pouted. "After the letters?" she asked.

"After the letters." Damon agreed. "I want this just as much as you do. The sooner we read the letters, the sooner we can make love." he smiled.

"You drive a hard bargain Mr Salvatore." Elena frowned. "But it's a deal." she agreed as she looked through the letters until she found the following letter from which she'd read the previous night. She scanned the page to find some surprising information. "Well, well." Elena smiled. "I think we have something."

"What is it?" Damon frowned as Elena took a deep breath and started to read.

 _December 24th 1866_

 _My Darling Stefan,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health._

 _Good news. The little one is kicking furiously now. Although I sincerely wish the baby was a little boy, I have a feeling it will be a girl. I know you will be disappointed to hear this but it matters not. By the time I get to Chicago, Damon will be dealt with and I will be unable to immediately return to Mystic Falls as I will be grief stricken and will have to give birth there. I'm sure the father of Miss Extremely Bland will be of the most valuable service. Once the baby is born, we can return to Mystic Falls and leave her behind. I think it a wise notion to simply leave her heartbroken, we cannot have too many deaths surrounding us. There will already be enough. Once she is born, we can marry and have a beautiful baby boy. The more I consider it, the more I believe it would be a blessing if the child I am carrying is a girl._

 _I have made arrangements to travel to Atlanta in February to visit Pearl. She has found someone who is currently going through all of Damon's businesses. It appears he has properties and other establishments outside of the official Salvatore plantation and logging mills. I know not of what they are, or who is to inherit them in his will, as I have never been privy to the details, but one would suspect you would inherit everything._

Elena stopped reading, stunned at the contents. Even though they'd suspected as much, to see the words written down was a shock.

"She was trying to kill me." Damon said, his voice unsteady.

"Was it her or Stefan?" Elena asked. "It seems clear Stefan was desperate to inherit the plantation and logging mills. Maybe she was following his orders." she said.

"She probably was." Damon replied, his face full of sadness.

Elena took Damon's face in her hands. "This wasn't about you." she said. "This was about power and money. You were an obstacle for them. So don't blame yourself."

"I know." Damon frowned. "It is just hard to hear, that the woman I used to love was planning to kill me. These were her words. How could I ever have fallen for her." he shook his head.

"Because I suspect the woman you fell for had gone." Elena tried to console him. "Stefan had changed her. She was taking laudanum on a regular basis. Stefan even encouraged this." she said. "Katherine was doing Stefan's dirty work."

"In such a way that Stefan would not get his hands dirty." Damon sighed. "But it is of no use. There is nothing to prove Stefan was going to kill me. It only confirms Katherine was planning to do it." he complained.

Elena continued to look further down the letter and a smile erupted on her face. "Well, well, well." she said as she began to read.

 _I have kept your other correspondence in a place where nobody would think to look. Only when you return to the house will I show you where I put it. That way, if anything goes wrong, nobody can incriminate you. Nobody will know where to look._

"I suspect you may not have burned all of the letters." Elena grinned.

"Katherine hid more." Damon smiled for the first time since Elena had started reading the letters. "There's enough in this letter to suggest Katherine was planning to kill me, and it sounds like the letters she hid have enough in them to suggest Stefan was in on it. But where could she have hidden them?" he frowned.

"If we can find them, we won't have to send Emily to Richmond." Elena grinned.

"I would prefer it if we did not have to send her." Damon agreed. "I would still be concerned for her welfare." he said. "Let us hope we can find these letters before Stefan returns from Nancy's, otherwise we may have to rely on Emily." he said sadly.

"Wouldn't Emily have any ideas where Katherine might have kept the letters?" Elena asked. "She may have known all along, but not have realized you hadn't found them." she suggested.

"You might be right." Damon grinned. "I say we have a glass of wine to celebrate with some strawberries and chocolate." he teased.

"I can think of better ways to celebrate." Elena whispered with twinkle in her eye.

"You do know we are all alone." Damon smirked. "No need to talk quietly. In fact, screaming is very much appreciated." he added.

"I do not wish to corrupt Matilda or Onyx!" Elena shook her head. "Now for goodness sake, either we start on the picnic, or we build up an appetite." she smiled as she leaned over and kissed him.

 **Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews so far, they are very much cherished and appreciated.** **It means a lot to know people are reading and enjoying the story and is a true motivator in me getting the chapters out on such a regular basis.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me and allow me to engage and answer questions. I always endeavor to reply to reviews via pm or respond to questions that I can answer (I won't give away any spoilers) to guest reviewers.**

 **Once again thank you, I love you all.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **Warning for explicit sexual content.**

"Now for goodness sake, either we start on the picnic, or we build up an appetite." Elena smiled as she leaned over to Damon and kissed him.

As their lips met Elena climbed up and straddled Damon's hips. She pushed his jacket over his shoulders, while making short work of removing the buttons on his vest and shirt. This unveiled an under-shirt, which Elena promptly removed, revealing Damon's pale bare chest. Elena pushed Damon down, so he was laying on his back, which caused him to smirk.

"My assessment of eager was not wrong." he smiled.

"Eager is not a strong enough word." Elena whispered as her lips and hands began to roam his naked torso.

Damon, on the other hand, was busy removing Elena's elaborate clothing. Although her drawers allowed for them to be intimate without the need for her being in a state of undress, her crinolette skirt would make matters awkward, and access would be much easier without it. Elena helped him remove her clothes as she was desperate to feel his bare flesh against her own.

Eventually they were both naked and entangled in each others arms. Elena took Damon's manhood in her hands and began to pump him as he had shown her, wiping the fluid from the tip, which prompted him to hiss with pleasure. However he didn't allow her to do this for long as he rolled them over, so he was on top, before his lips made their way down Elena's body, giving extra attention to her breasts, while his hands ghosted their way all over Elena's skin, causing her to moan with desire as her insides began to throb.

Damon's mouth almost met its target between Elena's legs. By this point she was panting with need for him. He kissed the inside of her thighs, teasing her by stopping just short of the place where she really wanting to feel his lips. Elena grabbed Damon's hair in an attempt to guide him to where she wanted him, but Damon wanted to continue tease her some more by gently running his fingers up and down her intimate parts and blowing on them, causing Elena's eyes to roll into the back of her head. She had gotten to the point of such desperation, she was ready to touch herself if it would give her some relief.

Fortunately Damon decided to give up teasing her as his fingers opened her to him. He dipped his tongue inside her, causing Elena to yelp with pleasure and buck her hips, to which Damon placed the palm of his hand on Elena's stomach to keep her flat to the floor. Damon's thumb found the part which sent the small shocks of pleasure around her body and began to massage it, while he continued to use his tongue inside her and just on the outside.

By this point Elena was moaning loudly. She was allowed to make as much noise as possible due to their complete privacy and the noise of the waterfall drowning her voice away, freeing her to fully let go of her inhibitions. And when she did, it was glorious. For the first time in her life, Elena could be herself with no reservations, and Damon was the one who gave her that gift through his love for her.

To prove himself even further, Damon's mouth made its way up to her sensitive area, which he'd just been massaging with his thumb. His mouth latched onto the place which she had discovered was the most sensitive, as he gently pushed his fingers inside her, stretching her and stroking her insides. By this point Elena was lost in pleasure as Damon gently began pump his hand while his mouth paid close attention to her to her sensitive area. Elena gripped hold of Damon's hair with one hand and the blanket with the other.

Elena knew she was about to fall over the edge. The heat which had been building up inside, combined with the intensity of the throbbing, which was now on the verge of turning into the white hot contractions, signaled the onset of an extremely powerful orgasm. Damon must have recognized what was about to happen as he inserted a third finger inside her and increased the pace of his thrusting. Finally the throbbing inside her erupted like a volcano, and Elena thought she was seeing stars as the orgasm was ripping through her body.

"Oh my goodness...Damon...Damon...Aargh!" Elena cried out at the top of her voice as she pulled Damon's head in closer, desperate for more, of what she didn't know because she'd lost the ability to think or speak. Her back arched and her body went rigid when Damon finally stopped what he was doing and held onto her tightly, kissing her stomach, as her legs began to feel wobbly.

Damon's lips made their way back up Elena's body until he found her mouth. Elena could feel his hardened manhood against her stomach and once more reached down to touch him, brushing him against her, coating him with her juices.

"You are learning quickly." Damon said seductively.

"I have a good teacher." Elena smiled as she lined him up to her entrance and pushed her hips against his.

Slowly Damon's member filled and stretched her until he was as far in as her body would allow. He pulled out of her and eased back inside and lowered his mouth to hers as they began to kiss with earnest. Elena wrapped her arms around Damon's neck as he slid his hand down her body, placing his hand behind her thigh and lifting it up, which gave a deeper penetration. Instinctively Elena lifted the other leg and wrapped them both around Damon's waist, as he plunged deeper inside her.

Their bodies moved together as one, as once again they both felt as if they were on a voyage of discovery. They built up a rhythm, like to dances, moving to an unknown tempo, yet their bodies automatically recognized it. Slow at first, however it gained speed and momentum the longer their union continued. Elena seemed to pick up on the fact that the higher her legs were, the deeper the penetration, so she lifted them until she had them wrapped around Damon's neck, and he was thrusting into her deep, hard and fast, which was exactly what she needed.

As they had been so desperate for each other, it meant their lovemaking would be short lived. The throbbing inside Elena's body told her she was desperate for release once more, which in turn would force Damon into his. Damon slid his hand between them and began to massage what she decided was her sweet spot, because she knew within moments of his fingers working their magic, she would experience the heavenly sensation which Damon had called an orgasm. As she expected, her release came almost as soon as he touched her.

"Oh my...Damon..." she moaned. "Yes...yes...yes..." she cried as the white hot spasms of her orgasm sent her core burning and pulsating around Damon's shaft, prompting Elena to lower her legs from Damon's neck and wrap them around his waist, for fear of hurting him. She pulled him in tight with a strength she was not aware she possessed. She arched her back, pressing her breasts into Damon's chest before her body went rigid as wave upon wave of her orgasm rocked her body.

As Elena expected, her own release triggered Damon's as she felt him shudder. Making sure she kept her eyes open, Elena watched as she wanted to see the expression on Damon's face as he experienced his own pleasure when he found his release.

"Oh yes...Elena...uh..." he cried as he scrunched his face up, pressing his hips tightly to Elena's as she felt his warm seed spill inside her. In that moment he looked stunning, he was completely hers while their bodies were still merged together, clinging to each other as if the world would come to an end if they let go of one another.

Damon's head collapsed into the crook of Elena's neck, while deep inside her, as his manhood softened. Elena tried to unwrap her legs from around Damon's waist but he shook his head.

"Just a little longer?" Damon asked. "I never want to forget this moment." he said as he rested his head a little longer, seemingly not prepared to let her go.

"Me neither." Elena said, looking at him as they began to kiss.

A couple of minutes later Damon rolled off Elena and covered them with one of the blankets he had brought. She snuggled up to his chest while he wrapped his arms around her, both feeling a sense of contentment. However it could not last long. There was one more letter, which Elena suspected must contain important information, as Katherine was heavy with child at the time and it would be doubtful she and Stefan had been engaged in any sexual acts at the time.

"We need to read the last letter." Elena said, wishing she didn't have to mention this, but the sooner they did it the better.

"I know." Damon agreed.

Elena sat up and picked up the last of Katherine's letters. Damon sat up behind her, in such a way as she ended up between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his chin on her shoulder as she opened the letter.

 _March 18th 1867_

 _My Darling Stefan,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health._

 _I myself am currently feeling a little unwell right now. I am returning from my trip to Atlanta and should be back in Mystic Falls tomorrow. I hope this illness passes quickly as Damon and I are due to leave for Chicago in two days time._

 _Pearl confirmed her investigator found some of Damon's other business dealings, however there maybe more. Pearl has advised him he has until May to discover whatever these other establishments could be. That gives us time for me to reach Chicago and give birth to our child before our return to Mystic Falls. Only then would the last will and testament be read._

 _Everything is now in place for the trip to Chicago. I have the laudanum, for which I am currently thankful of for assisting with my ailment. Pearl obtained prescription receipts for them, therefore when the time comes, should any suspicions arise. I plan to put a high dosage in his coffee the day before we arrive in Chicago. Pearl managed to find some information regarding the dose which would be required._

 _I must keep this letter short as I need to rest. The burden of illness and being with child is making me weary._

 _All my love._

 _K_

"She died a few days later." Damon sighed. "The doctors did all they could, but they could not save her or the baby." he shook his head.

"We did not find out about her death until a few days after the wedding." Elena told him.

Damon sighed. "This is only proof he knew of Katherine's plans, not that he was involved in them." he said. "If anything, it incriminates Pearl. Not that she would ever be arrested. She knows too much about everybody." he told her.

"Who is Pearl?" Elena frowned.

"Pearl is Katherine's aunt by marriage. She and Katherine's uncle had a daughter called Annabelle." Damon explained. "Katherine's uncle died not long after Annabelle was born under mysterious circumstances. Pearl never remarried and inherited all of her husband's wealth. She owns many businesses in Atlanta, one of them no doubt, is the Spa Katherine used to frequent. Although I doubt Pearl's name is attached to it. She would use it to get information on clients. Pearl is practically untouchable by the law as she has something on everyone who is of note in Atlanta. She would be the perfect person to help Katherine plot my demise." he told her. "But so far nothing points to Stefan." he sighed. "I cannot use any correspondence where Pearl would be incriminated. We would both be dead." he said angrily.

"If Bill knew Stefan was aware of this plot, would it not be enough to have Stefan imprisoned?" Elena asked.

"Maybe." Damon nodded. "But for how long? If he were to be out within a year, you would never be granted a divorce. Also the letters are circumstantial. Stefan could claim to have written to warn me but Katherine must have intercepted and destroyed the letters." he said. "We need more. If we cannot find the letters Katherine kept hidden, we may need to speak to Pearl. If Katherine had not gone to Atlanta, she would have still been alive. If I can convince her this was Stefan's doing, and how he poisoned and manipulated her mind, she may help. I can tell her I will destroy all evidence to implicate Pearl." he said thoughtfully.

"Isn't that dangerous?" Elena asked.

"It may be our only option." Damon shrugged. "I do not wish to involve Emily. When I thought it was simply an issue with her getting rid of our children, then I would not have had any issue sending Emily. But there was clearly more happening than just that. If I cannot find the letters, then this will take some time." he frowned, tightening his arms around Elena's waist. "The thought of him touching you in any way possible fills me with hatred and disgust. If I thought I could, I would kill him." he said.

"He is your brother." Elena chided him. "If he is to die as a result of his actions, let it be at the hands of the law, and not yours." she said. "You will never forgive yourself if you took his life. No matter how much you detest him." she nestled her head into the crook of Damon's neck. "Please promise me you will do this the right way." she said.

"I promise." Damon smiled.

"Good!" Elena clapped her hands. "That is settled. Now do you think we have time to feat on the picnic and maybe make love one more time before we leave?" she asked.

"Well, I was thinking maybe we can do both at the same time." Damon nibbled on Elena's ear, causing her to giggle.

"And pray tell, how would we do that?" Elena asked.

"I brought strawberries and champagne." Damon told her. "They are perfect to use when making love." he whispered in her ear.

"How?" Elena asked.

"I will just have to show you. Although it may make you a wanton woman." he teased.

"Well then, I look forward to dessert." Elena grinned.

They returned to the the house a few hours later, before dark and decided to look through Stefan's bedroom to see if one of Katherine's perfume dispensers was indeed full of laudanum. Damon opened the door to Stefan's bedroom and Elena followed him inside with trepidation. Bonnie had been told to keep the servants away from the upstairs for a while. They told Bonnie they were searching for something of Elena's which was missing and he believed it had been accidentally put among Katherine's things, as it had been forwarded to the house before Stefan and Elena married.

As well as looking for the laudanum, they had decided to look for the other letters which Stefan had sent Katherine. However Damon did not know Stefan's bedroom very well, and he certainly did not know the little hiding places, which Katherine would have been all too aware of, considering in all likelihood, Stefan would have told her.

They found the laudanum in the perfume dispenser. The odor was similar to apple pie and spices, making it very distinctive. As Elena's father was a doctor, it was a smell she was highly familiar with. However, they were unable to find a single floorboard which seemed to be loose. No picture had a cupboard hidden behind it, and the drawers were only filled with Katherine's and Stefan's clothes. After an hour of searching, they decided to give up and go change for supper.

Later that night, after they'd retired, and Elena was laying in Damon's arms after they'd made love once more, she had an where Katherine might have hidden the letters. If she were right, sadly they would never be found again.

"You said Katherine was a keen rider." Elena said as she stroked Damon's chest.

"She was." Damon replied.

"What happened to her horse?" Elena asked.

"She used to ride Stefan's horse, Pluto. Why?" Damon frowned.

"Are you sure she was a keen rider, or that she was spending time writing and hiding letters?" Elena raised an eyebrow. "Did you ride with her?" she asked.

"Katherine liked to ride alone." Damon told her. "She said it cleared her head." he said.

"Maybe that was when she was writing to Stefan." Elena suggested. "Which means the letters could have been hidden anywhere, not necessarily in the house." she said.

Damon sighed. "You are probably right. She may have even hidden them in a hiding spot in the stables, which could be why they were burned down." he suggested.

"Stefan destroying the evidence?" Elena asked.

Damon nodded. "Maybe. I'm sure Katherine would have told him where she hid the letters."

"So is that it?" Elena asked. "We just give up?"

"Pearl is still an option." Damon said. "Chances are remote she will help us, but we can always try." he said. "I am not leaving you married to my brother, even if it kills me!" he whispered as he kissed her on the head.

"If it kills you, it kills me." Elena whispered. "So be careful." she said.

"I will, I promise." Damon nodded as he kissed her.

Over the next few days they searched the house for any sign of the missing letters. Damon even wrote to Emily to find out if she knew anything, but he knew he would not receive a reply before Stefan's return, even if he was delayed by the poor weather. To ensure Stefan and Elena did not move out, Damon ensured the progress was slowed of the house by moving the workers to rebuild the stables instead. This would ad another month to the build, which meant Stefan and Elena would continue to live at the plantation house for at least another three months. Damon was going to do his utmost to ensure Stefan and Elena didn't move out until they could find a way to prove Stefan guilty of at least colluding with Katherine to murder Damon. As they hadn't been successful in killing Damon, he was unsure of the sentence, although he suspected it would be harsh. There were very few references he could find to what would happen if proven guilty, and Damon didn't want to approach Bill about such matters, as it would already raise suspicions.

Damon and Elena counted down the days until the dreaded return of Stefan. They knew they only had at the most, five days together, so when they weren't looking for the letters, or anything else which might prove Stefan was colluding with Katherine, they were spending as much time in each other's arms as possible. Every night Elena crawled into Damon's bed, where they made love and slept together as man and wife. However their time of happiness had to come to an end as on the Saturday evening Stefan returned from his trip, clearly unwell from spending so much time in the rain.

The doctor insisted Stefan sleep alone, just in case his fever got worse and his sickness was contagious. Therefore, by Stefan's own choice, he was confined to his old room and Elena remained in the Master bedroom, much to her relief. Although they knew it was only a temporary reprieve, Damon and Elena could at least spend a little time together when Stefan was sleeping. It took ten days for Stefan to sufficiently recover from his fever, although he still had a terrible cough, for him to be able to return to his old room which he shared with Elena.

For the first two weeks, Stefan was too weak and tired to hurt of force himself on Elena. She cared for him as a wife should, raising no complaint from him. However the next day Elena received some news which threatened to change all of that.

 **Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews so far, they are very much cherished and appreciated.** **It means a lot to know people are reading and enjoying the story and is a true motivator in me getting the chapters out on such a regular basis.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me and allow me to engage and answer questions. I always endeavor to reply to reviews via pm or respond to questions that I can answer (I won't give away any spoilers) to guest reviewers.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **I'm sorry for the delay, but after 17 straight days of releasing chapters, I needed a day off. Plus the release time was getting more and more awkward for me as I am supposed to be doing something else at that point.**

 **I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

Stefan had gone down for breakfast when Bonnie appeared at the bedroom door to help Elena get ready for the day. Elena could tell from Bonnie's behavior, she was itching to tell Elena some news, which usually meant gossip. By this point, Elena had been introduced to many of the townsfolk, as over the last few days, Stefan had had many well wishes and visitors. Elena had played her part as the ever loving and dutiful wife, even though she had to admit it was becoming exhausting. Fortunately Stefan would be back at the church all day today, meaning she could rest a little. Elena was wondering if she had picked up Stefan's illness, despite the close attention they'd paid to making sure nobody in the house got ill from it, therefore she had been waiting to see Bonnie to see if she could ask her Grams for anything to help her feel better. Elena sat in front of the mirror waiting for Bonnie to start on her hair and to tell her what she knew.

"Go on Bonnie. Tell me whatever you have to tell me." Elena sighed, wondering what could have gotten Bonnie into such an excited state.

"Oh Elena, it is really exciting news." Bonnie grinned. "Over in Grove Hill, one of the men who was responsible for the deaths of Bob and Nancy, was spotted sleeping in a barn." Bonnie told her. "The owner alerted the Sheriff, but the man ran off just before the Sheriff got there, the man ran off. They're chasing him right now. They might have even caught him by now." she grinned.

"And where did you hear this Bonnie?" Elena asked.

"Sheriff Forbes came to see Master Damon this morning." Bonnie told her. "I know I shouldn't have been hearing nothing, but I was making sure the rugs had been beaten properly, which they hadn't." she nodded matter of factly. "Master Damon gets most upset when the rugs haven't had a good beating down." she told her. "Especially with Master Stefan being ill and all. Need to make sure nothing can be spread and anyone else getting ill. Especially you." she smirked.

Elena frowned. "About that. I've been feeling a little off color for the last two day. I hope I haven't got the fever Stefan brought in, but I was wondering if your Grams could brew up some tonic to help." she said.

"I've been waiting for you to ask." Bonnie smirked.

"Why? Do I look ill?" Elena asked in a panic.

"No Elena, you look fine." Bonnie assured her. "It's just that you haven't asked for any rags for over six weeks. I was assuming you were with child." she said as the color drained from Elena's face. With everything which had been going on around her, she hadn't noticed she hadn't bled. "Elena, are you alright?" Bonnie asked as suddenly Elena felt like she was somewhere else, before everything went dark.

When Elena opened her eyes, she was back in her bed. Peering down at her were the worried faces of Bonnie, Damon, and the stony face of Stefan. Elena tried to sit up, but Bonnie put her hand on Elena's arm.

"Don't try to get up Mistress Elena." Bonnie said soothingly. "Doctor Mikaelson is on his way." she said.

"What happened?" Elena asked, raising her hand to her head.

"You fainted." Stefan said. "I have to get to the church, but I'm sure I can leave you in the very capable hands of Bonnie and the good doctor." he said, and with that he left the room.

Elena tried to remember why she'd fainted, then she remembered Bonnie's before everything went dark.

"Damon, can I have a word with Bonnie in private." she said as Damon frowned, surprised that Elena would keep anything from him.

"Of course." he replied and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.

Elena waited until he was gone before turning to Bonnie. "Have you spoken of this to anyone?" she asked.

Bonnie shook her head. "No, of course not. You were the first person I mentioned this to." she said. "But at least it means Master Stefan won't hurt you." she smiled.

"Maybe." Elena frowned. "Although he hasn't hurt me since he got back from Nancy's." she told her. "I don't know whether I should tell him." she said.

"I don't think you'll have much choice after the Doc has been here." Bonnie said. "He's gonna ask you when you last bled. Can you even remember?" she asked.

Elena thought for a moment and shook her head. "No I can't." she said.

"It was the week before the fire." Bonnie told her as she sat beside her on the bed.

"But that's..." Elena frowned. "Impossible." she shook her head, suddenly realizing the baby could only be Stefan's if he'd spilled inside her the night he came back from Bob's family. "Actually, no it isn't." she sighed, as she realized her only way out was going to have to be to lie. "I forgot he came back after he'd been to see Bob's family." she said. "He...well, you know." Elena cast her eyes down. Inside part of her was overjoyed as she knew she was carrying Damon's child, the other part was terrified that Stefan might suspect the child was not his.

"Don't you think you should tell Master Damon?" Bonnie said softly. "I know you said Master Stefan was with you that one time, but I remember what you told me." Elena frowned at Bonnie's words. "Master Damon has a vested interest in any child you have as it would be the heir to the plantation." she reminded her with a smirk.

"Oh right." Elena suddenly realized. "Of course he does." she nodded.

"Would you like me to leave you alone with him to talk before Doctor Mikaelson?" Bonnie asked as Elena nodded her head. Bonnie got up and head out of the door, and was suddenly replaced by Damon, who closed it.

Damon rushed towards her. "I was so worried about you." he said taking her hands in his. "Do you think you are coming down with the fever Stefan had?" he asked.

Elena shook her head. "I think you need to sit down." she smiled as Damon sat on the bed, never letting go of her hands. "Bonnie says I haven't bled since the week before the fire." she told him.

"You..." Damon stopped, his eyes wide with shock, before his face softened. "You are with child?" he asked.

"Bonnie thinks so." Elena nodded. "Doctor Mikaelson will probably just confirm it." she smiled.

"Is it mine?" Damon asked quietly as Elena nodded.

"Stefan pulled out of me that one time, he didn't lay make his mess inside of me." she told him. "But for the time being I'm going to have to lie and try to convince him the baby is his." she said. "Fortunately he was drunk, so hopefully he won't fully remember."

"Let's hope he believes you." Damon smiled, as he kissed her knuckles before frowning. "This is going to make things a little difficult to find time together to practice our procreation skills. I quite like that part." he smirked.

"Me too." Elena agreed. "I'm sure we'll find a way." she said as they both heard the sound of horses outside. "I think that's Doctor Mikaelson. It is probably a good idea you let Bonnie back in to fuss over me." she sighed.

"I'll leave you to it." Damon smiled and kissed her on the forehead. "You have no idea how happy I am." he whispered. "Even if I could never call the child mine. It's more important now than ever we do something about Stefan. I do not want him around the baby." he added as he kissed her on the lips and stroked her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too." Elena whispered back with a grin as Damon got up and left the room, a small smirk on his face.

After Damon left, Bonnie returned back to the room while Elena sat up to make herself more comfortable. Bonnie tidied Elena's hair before the Doctor came up to see her, to make sure she was still looking her best as suddenly the door opened and the immaculate looking Doctor Elijah Mikaelson walked in.

"Mistress Elena." he strolled over in his confident manner. "Considering your little episode, I have to say you look remarkably well." he smiled.

"Thank you Doctor Mikaelson." Elena smiled back.

"Oh please, we've spent enough time together with your husband's illness recently to be on more familiar terms. Please call me Elijah." he said.

"And please call me Elena." Elena nodded.

"Well now the pleasantries are over, let us get to work." he said before looking up to Bonnie. "Would you mind stepping out." he told her.

"I'd like her to stay." Elena grabbed Bonnie's hand, preventing her from leaving the room.

"Very well." Elijah agreed. "So, when was the last time you bled?" he asked.

"The week before the fire." Elena told him.

"Seven weeks ago. Ah." Elijah nodded. "Have you had any other symptoms, tenderness of the breasts, nausea, sickness?"

Elena shook her head. "I've felt normal, right until I fainted this morning. Which I suspect was from shock, Bonnie only reminded me just before that I hadn't bled for over a month." she told him.

"Any slightly unusual food cravings?" he asked.

"Nothing." Elena shrugged. "I don't feel any different." she frowned. "Is that normal?" she asked.

"Not all women get the obvious symptoms at first." he assured her. "But I would keep an eye on things." he said.

"I'll make sure her corsets are kept loose." Bonnie told Elijah. "And I'll keep an eye out for the obvious signs." she said. "I've had three of my own."

"Well, it appears you do not need my help." Elijah laughed, turning. "It seems Bonnie here is already an expert in the matter. I believe I am leaving you in very capable hands." he said. "In the meantime, I will prescribe you some laudanum, just in case you do feel off color." he told her. "Just a couple of drops will be enough."

"Thank you Elijah." Elena smiled.

"You are welcome." he smiled, taking a small bottle from his bag. "I suggest a little bed rest for the rest of the morning to recover from your episode. You should be fine to take dinner." he said, straightening his suit. "Well, I will be on my way. I have a number of patients to visit." he smiled, before bowing and leaving.

Once he left Bonnie turned to Elena. "Have you used the chamber-pot?" she asked.

"Just before I fainted." Elena frowned. "Why?" she asked.

"I'm going to take it to Grams. She has a test which works. She uses wheat and barley. She'll even be able to tell if it is a girl or a boy." Bonnie told her. "That is if you want to know."

"I'm not sure." Elena frowned. "I just feel a little...overwhelmed by it all." she said.

"I think you should rest." Bonnie told her.

"Yes Bonnie, I think you are right." she said, putting the tiny bottle of laudanum in the drawer of her nightstand before laying back down in her bed and falling fast asleep.

Elena was woken by the sensation of a dip in the bed and a clinking noise, the sound of china. She opened her eyes and saw Stefan pouring some tea. He looked up and smiled softly.

"You're awake." he said.

Elena sat up and nodded.

"I believe you have something to tell me." he asked, as Elena swallowed, not knowing what his reaction would be.

"I'm with child." she said in a small voice.

A huge smile erupted over Stefan's face, one like she'd never seen before. He sat beside her on the bed, took her hands and kissed her knuckles. "I take it, it must have happened the night I came back from Bob's." he grinned.

"I believe so." Elena nodded.

"You have no idea how happy I am." Stefan told her and kissed her gently on the cheek.

Elena frowned. "I wasn't sure how you would take it." she said.

"I've been desperate for a baby ever since we got married." Stefan told her, his voice so sincere she almost believed him. "I can't wait to tell everyone that my beautiful wife is with child." he grinned. "I even made your favorite ginger tea to celebrate. Apparently Grams says it's good for you when you are pregnant." he smiled. "I wonder if it will be a boy or girl." he said excitedly, as he got up and passed her a cup of tea.

Elena was astounded. Either he had no concept of how a child was made, he couldn't entirely remember what happened that night, or he was lying. Whichever it was, she was surprised by his reaction.

"We can drink this and go for dinner." Stefan told her. "I'll help you dress, although we need to be careful about tightening your corset. Wouldn't want anything to happen to the little one." he said as he kissed her on the forehead and took a sip of his own tea. "Drink up." he encouraged her. "Dinner will be ready soon." he said before getting up to pull the servants bell. Bonnie soon arrived, surprised to see a grinning Stefan, who pulled out a letter from his pocket. "I'd like you to run over to the church. Eliza is there. I want this posting in the notices." he said as Bonnie looked at him in surprise. "My wife is with child and I want the entire world to know." he grinned.

"Yes Master Stefan." she said.

"And could you ask your Grams to do her little test. I want to know as soon as possible if it is a boy or girl. That way we can build the nursery exactly in the right colors." he said.

"I've already taken Mistress Elena's chamber-pot to her." Bonnie told him.

"Good girl. Now run along." he said, closing the door in Bonnie's face, before turning back to Elena. "Have you finished your tea?" he asked.

"I did." Elena frowned. "It tasted a little off."

"That will be your sense of taste." Stefan told her. "Apparently senses are heightened, and I'm afraid I'm not the best tea maker in the world, so it probably tasted extra bad." he lowered his eyes. "I think it is time you got up so I can help you get ready for dinner."

Elena smiled, feeling happier than she had in a long time. She knew the baby was Damon's, but maybe Bonnie was right about Stefan, he was so happy about the pregnancy, he wouldn't hurt her while she was with child. Stefan helped Elena out of bed and was extremely tender and gentle with her. He stood behind her and pulled her close to him as he gently fondled her breast.

"I'm sure they're a little bigger than last time." he whispered seductively in her ear. "You'll be even more radiant with child, and I promise to be very careful with you when we make love." he said as Elena could smell the whiskey on him for the first time, making her feel sick, although she put that down to just the smell and touch of him repulsing her.

"I feel a little sick." Elena complained.

"Well it is to be expected." Stefan said as he let go of her breasts and standing back. "Do you need to use the chamber-pot? I can bring it to you." he offered sweetly as Elena shook her head. As soon as Stefan had moved away and took his hands off her breasts, she felt better.

"I'm fine." Elena nodded. "It was just a little passing nausea. In fact, I'm quite ravenous." she told him truthfully.

"Then we need to dress you quickly." Stefan said as he helped her into her corset, giving her plenty of room in her to allow her to breathe, although it still had to be tight enough to enable Elena to fit into her dress.

Once dressed Stefan took a look at her and smiled, pulling her into him and kissing her on the cheek.

"Pregnancy suits you already. You are practically glowing." he said as Elena started to feel sick again. When he pulled back he saw Elena's face, and concern spread all over his. "Are you still feeling unwell?" he asked. "I can have dinner brought to you." he suggested.

The thought of being stuck with only Stefan all afternoon and not being able to see Damon filled Elena with dread, she really needed to see him and his comforting smile. "I'll be fine." she told him.

"Did Doctor Mikaelson give you anything for possible pregnancy problems?" he asked as Elena nodded.

"He prescribed laudanum." she said. "Just two drops." she told him. "It is what father prescribes for nausea, so I already expected it."

"Have you taken any yet?" Stefan asked.

"No." Elena shook her head.

"Then I think it best you take two drops before dinner. It will help with the nausea." he said.

Knowing she would have to be close to Stefan, and that it was the smell of whiskey which happened to be fueling her symptoms, Elena agreed. As long as she only took it occasionally, she would be fine, and as Stefan wouldn't be around most of the time, she shouldn't need to use it often, however she didn't dare tell him what was triggering the nausea.

"It is in the top drawer of my nightstand." Elena told him as he retrieved the bottle for her.

Stefan poured her a glass of water and added two drops, just as Doctor Mikaelson had prescribed. He handed the glass to Elena who drank it straight down, before giving him the empty glass back.

"Good girl." Stefan said as he held out his arm. "Would you like me to escort you to dinner?" he asked.

"I would like that very much dear husband." Elena smiled, wishing this was the Stefan she'd married.

This was how he was with her when they met; charming, gracious, attentive. Stefan was being nicer to her than he'd ever been before. Elena began to wonder if it had been the loss of his child which had devastated Stefan the most, not the loss of Katherine. She just hoped he never found out the baby was Damon's.

As Elena reached the top of the stairs, she saw Damon standing at the bottom waiting for them with a smile on his face, which momentarily dropped when he saw her arm in arm with Stefan. However he soon regained his composure and plastered a fake smile across his face. Elena suddenly felt an urge to giggle as she stepped down a step. noticing the stairs weren't wide enough for the both of them.

"You go first husband." she said in a mock formal voice.

"You go first, I will be right behind you." Stefan smiled as Elena placed one hand loosely to the balustrade to steady herself.

When Elena took the next step, she felt slightly dizzy again, but for some reason she didn't care, she didn't even bother to lift her skirt. Suddenly she felt it catch on something, causing her to lose her balance. She tried to grip hold of the balustrade, however she was too slow. She felt her legs buckle underneath her before the world seemed to start to spin around her.

Elena vaguely heard screams and cries around her as she felt her body hitting the stairs. She cried out in pain before everything soon went silent and dark.

 ** **Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews so far, they are very much cherished and appreciated.**** ** **It means a lot to know people are reading and enjoying the story and is a true motivator in me getting the chapters out on such a regular basis.****

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me and allow me to engage and answer questions. I always endeavor to reply to reviews via pm or respond to questions that I can answer (I won't give away any spoilers) to guest reviewers.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to The Vampire Diaries, TV show or books. However I decided to have a little play around with the characters (I would definitely like to play with Damon).**

 **I'm sorry yet again for the delay. Two reasons. The first being I don't want to end up with a situation like Entombed in the Past where I ended up with RSI for nearly a month. The second was a creative decision. I was torn regarding what to do with a certain aspect of the chapter. A part which was always meant to be included in this chapter, yet it felt too early to include it in the story. The decision made by making a compromise, therefore I finally managed to get the chapter written.**

"ELENA!" Damon cried out at the top of his voice as he saw her lose her balance and come hurtling, head first, towards him down the stairs.

Just behind him he was vaguely aware of Bonnie screaming Elena's name while Stefan called out at the same time. By the time Elena reached him and her body had stopped moving, her eyes were closed.

"Send for Elijah!" Damon demanded as Bonnie ran off to send for the Doctor.

Damon gently took Elena's head in his arms to check if she were still living. Fortunately he could hear her breathing, even though her eyes were still closed. Stefan was running down the stairs, his face full of panic, but Damon did not care, nor did he trust Stefan to be careful. Elena needed to be taken to her room and he had no interest in handing Elena over to her husband. Gently Damon picked Elena up in his arms and began to carry her upstairs.

"Where are you taking her?" Stefan demanded.

"To her bed brother. Elijah will be here soon and it will be easier for him to examine her there." Damon snapped. "Tell Bonnie to get here as soon as she's sent someone to find Elijah. Elena needs to be put in her nightdress and I believe it will take two of you." he said through gritted teeth, wishing he could be the one to dress her as he hated the idea of Stefan seeing Elena's body naked.

"I should be carrying her!" Stefan insisted.

"Brother, I am stronger than you." Damon said as he reached the top of the stairs. "You have been ill, I don't want you both getting hurt." he said, an answer to which Stefan couldn't deny.

Stefan rushed downstairs to find Bonnie while Damon softly placed Elena on the bed and stroked her face, tucking a stray hair behind her ear, momentarily not caring if anyone saw him. He wanted to make sure Bonnie was with Stefan when Elena was changed into her nightdress as for some reason, he couldn't shake the bad feeling he had. This seemed all too similar to how his father had died, except his father hadn't been to lucky. Maybe the vast array of clothing Elena wore, had cushioned her fall slightly, which was why she was still breathing; although she was yet to wake.

Bonnie and Stefan arrived in the bedroom and Damon had to leave her to them. No matter how much he loved her, he could do her more harm by being in the same room as her, therefore he got up and left to wait downstairs for Elijah, trying hard to not let the tears fall. His hand shaking, he poured himself a glass of whiskey to calm him down. Only half an hour earlier he was the happiest man on earth, he'd just discovered the love of his life was with child. Now his world had come crashing down around him as not only was the baby's life in danger, but so was hers. Damon wasn't sure he could go through this loss again, especially as he would have to hide it.

Damon heard a knock at the door and quickly got up. The servants had been waiting patiently for him, therefore by the time Damon was in the hall, Elijah was already removing his coat.

"Your man told me Mrs Salvatore had a fall." Elijah said. "Is that correct?" he asked.

Damon nodded. "She was about to walk down the stairs when she...she just fell." he frowned.

"Had she rested sufficiently from this morning?" Elijah asked.

"I believe so." Damon nodded.

"Feeling faint during pregnancy is normal." Elijah told him as Damon began to lead him up the stairs to Elena's room. "It sounds as if she got unfortunate with the time and place to have an episode." he said as Damon knocked on the door to Stefan and Elena's room.

"Come in." a frantic sounding Stefan cried out as Damon and Elijah walked into the room.

The sight which met Damon's eyes made him want to be sick. There was blood all over the sheets and Elena's nightdress. Damon's eyes widened with fear, however Elijah seemed unperturbed.

"To be expected I suppose." he sighed as Damon and Stefan looked at him while Bonnie went to fetch some water. Elijah turned to Stefan. "I'm sorry, but she's losing the baby." he said, putting a hand on his shoulders.

"NO!" Stefan cried as he rushed to Elena;s side, bent down and took her hand in his, while tears began to stream from his eyes. "I will pray for you and our little one." he said quietly, however it was loud enough for Damon and Elijah to hear.

Damon felt sick, he was unable to help the woman he loved, who losing their child. To make matters worse he could not even be by her side. Stefan was the one who took that honor. He heard a knock at the front door but ignored it, his feet were rooted to the ground with devastation.

"I'm afraid you are going to have to leave Mr Salvatore." Elijah told him. "Don't worry, she's in good hands." he said.

Damon nodded and turned to leave the room and head to his study. Once inside he started to shake, he desperately needed to weep, however questions would be asked if he did so. However he did not have long to mourn as there was a knock on the door. Damon opened it to find Bonnie on the other side.

"It isn't a good time." Damon swallowed.

"I think it is Master Damon." Bonnie insisted, looking at him sadly.

Damon sighed and let her in, gesturing for her to sit. He then did an uncharacteristic thing and offered her a small drop of whiskey, to which Bonnie accepted as she also needed something to calm her nerves. When Damon sat down he had a glass of his own.

"How can I help Bonnie?" he asked.

"Well Master Damon, I think it is the other way around." Bonnie replied. "I was wondering how I can help you." she said.

"I don't understand." Damon frowned.

"While Master Stefan was away, I made sure only I was allowed to change your sheets." she told him. "I didn't want people to talk." she said.

Damon's face fell, he knew this was Bonnie's roundabout way of telling him she knew what he and Elena had been doing.

"I don't know what you mean." Damon said innocently.

"Mistress Elena was highly unlikely to get with child with Master Stefan. She didn't exactly know a great deal about...well..." Bonnie cast her eyes down. "She didn't understand exactly how to become with child. I had to explain it to her." she frowned. "The way Master Stefan forced himself upon her would make it nigh on impossible to become with child, unless he was very careless, which I doubt, she wouldn't be with child." she said.

"It is not unheard of." Damon shrugged.

"Master Damon, this is me you are talking to." Bonnie folded her arms. "How many years have we known each other? I've seen you only look at one other woman like you look at her, and that was Mistress Katherine. Mistress Elena looks at you the same, except when Master Stefan went away, I saw her look at you like a woman in love." she smiled. "You can't fool me Master Damon. I know the child was yours."

"I...I..." Damon didn't know what to say.

"I'd like to say, don't worry, your secret is safe with me. But I think Master Stefan guessed." Bonnie said sadly. "Which is why I don't think the fall was an accident." she said.

"I was there." Damon shook his head. "She lost her balance and fell." he told her.

"But what if she'd taken laudanum." Bonnie said. "What if she can't take it? What if she took too much?"

"We don't know yet whether she took any or not." Damon said. "All we know is Doctor Mikaelson prescribed her some."

"And who was with her before she fell?" Bonnie asked.

"Stefan." Damon frowned.

"Yes, Master Stefan was." Bonnie said. "A man who probably suspects the child his wife is carrying is his brother's. A man known for forcing himself on his wife and beating his wife. He's an alcoholic and goodness knows what else. Do you really trust him to have done the right thing?" she asked.

Damon lowered his eyes. "That's not all." he said. "Can I trust you will keep this information to yourself?" he asked.

"Of course." Bonnie frowned. "You've done so for me, I'd do anything to help you." she said.

"Good." Damon nodded. "Because right now, this cannot go any further than this room." he said as he got up and locked the door before sitting back down. "I have my suspicions regarding my brother and a number of nefarious acts he may have been involved in." he told her. "Elena and I uncovered some letters which were from Katherine. Obviously you know about the pregnancy terminations." he said as Bonnie nodded. "But that wasn't all." Damon told her. "They were plotting something. I'm not exactly sure what it was, however it was related to ensuring I did not make it to Chicago." he said as Bonnie clapped her hand on her mouth in shock.

"Were they planning to kill you?" she asked.

"I believe so." Damon nodded. "Well at least Katherine was." he said. "Apparently Stefan knew about her plans, but I no longer have any correspondence from him as I burned it all." he sighed. "I believe there is more, but it is hidden somewhere. But I don't know where. I suspected either Stefan's old room, or maybe even the stables considering they were burned down." he said. "I don't know all of the hiding places in the house." he shrugged.

"I'm sure I can help with that." Bonnie smiled. "I know of a few secret nooks and crannies. Do you know what they were going to do?" she asked.

"I don't really know." Damon told her. "I also know she was taking laudanum. Stefan was getting it for her and even stole it from Elena's father. It was one of the reasons he chose her to be his wife." he said.

Bonnie frowned. "Because her father was a Doctor?" she asked.

Damon nodded. "From what I could tell, they planned on halting the wedding after my death. Katherine having the baby in Chicago. Then they were going to return to Mystic Falls, and Stefan would look after the grieving widow, and not invite Elena until he could plan the marriage once more. He never intended to marry her. Stefan only went through it because Katherine died." he sighed.

"Why don't you tell Bill?" Bonnie asked.

"What do I tell him?" Damon asked. "My brother, the respectable Pastor, was, according to my dead wife, trying to kill me." he said. "We don't have anything to say he wasn't trying to stop her. All we know is he was giving her more laudanum for her addiction." he told her. "Pearl may know something, but that means I would have to go to Atlanta, and I don't want to leave Elena alone with him. Because if Stefan did do something to her today, then I don't know if she'll be alive when I get back." he sighed.

"Emily could go for the letters." Bonnie suggested.

"Pearl won't give her the letters." Damon shook his head. "At first I thought she would, but after what I've learned, I don't think she will. There is too much which could implicate her in a number of crimes." he said. "Only I can discuss this with her."

"What are your intentions towards Stefan?" Bonnie frowned.

"Prison, then Elena would be able to have a divorce without shame." Damon told her. "I don't want him dead. I do not want his blood on my hands. I suspect he will be in enough trouble by not informing the police. But Stefan isn't the only problem. Pearl is just as dangerous. If she wants you dead, you will be dead." he explained. "I cannot implicate Pearl, because her people will come after us." he said.

"I take it the letters all implicate her." Bonnie said.

Damon nodded. "Pretty much." he replied. "I cannot go unless I can find a way to protect Elena while I am gone. I suppose I must find a way." he grimaced.

"I'm sure you will Master Damon." Bonnie nodded. "Do you wish to marry her?" she asked.

Damon swallowed, tears threatening to take over. "Yes." he whispered. "I asked her and she said yes." he admitted.

"I believe love will conquer all." Bonnie smiled a reassuring smile. "You will find a way. And it is okay to cry Master Damon. Just not around Master Stefan. But if you need to talk, you know where I am." she said.

"Thank you Bonnie." Damon smiled back as Bonnie got up and left Damon alone to his thoughts.

A few minutes later there was a knock on the study door and Elijah walked in. Damon offered him a seat and a glass of whiskey, which the Doctor accepted.

"How is she?" Damon asked.

"Still unconscious." Elijah told him. "But she only has a minor bump to the head. She should wake in the next few hours." he smiled.

"Why do you think she fell?" Damon frowned.

"Who can say?" Elijah shrugged. "It wasn't her first fainting episode of the day. Pregnancy can do that to a woman." he said.

"Laudanum?" Damon asked.

"I wouldn't think the dose Stefan gave her would have been sufficient to cause her to faint." Elijah said.

"So Stefan did give her laudanum." Damon narrowed.

"Yes." Elijah nodded. "Two drops as prescribed." he said.

"And you think it was only that amount?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

"I checked the bottle itself. I doubt anymore has been taken out. The bottle was only a two ounce bottle." Elijah told him.

"What if Elena had problems with laudanum." Damon frowned. "Could that have caused the fainting?"

"I believe it was normal pregnancy side effects." Elijah explained. "It was just unfortunate where it happened. At least she survived, and she may go on to have many more children." he said. "Well I must take my leave. Let me know when she wakes. If she hasn't woken by tomorrow morning, I will be here to check on her." he said standing up.

"Thank you Doctor Mikaelson." Damon held out his hand and Elijah shook it. "I carry the burden of the welfare of any child of Stefan and Elena's as if my own. I do not plan to remarry of have children of my own." he sighed.

"Goodbye Mr Salvatore." Elijah said as he left.

Over the remainder of the day, Stefan, Damon and Bonnie took it in turns to stay with Elena. There was nothing Damon or Bonnie could do to prevent Stefan from sitting with her, however they were in luck as the majority of the time, there were visitors to see the Pastor to offer their condolences on the loss of his child. Therefore when that evening Elena finally did open her eyes, it was Damon who was sat with her.

"Damon." Elena whispered.

"Hush." Damon said softly. "You've had a nasty accident." he said, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"The baby?" she asked as Damon shook his head sadly, bringing tears to her eyes.

"Do you remember Stefan giving you the laudanum?" Damon asked quietly, to which Elena nodded in reply. "How much did he give you?"

"Just two drops like the Doctor said." Elena whispered. "I watched him do it." she told him. "I probably just fainted." she said weakly.

"Probably." Damon nodded. "I'll ask Bonnie to fetch the Doctor. Let him check over you and make sure you are well." he said as he got up and rang the servants bell.

A few seconds later Bonnie appeared. "Thank goodness you are awake." she grinned.

"Send someone to fetch Elijah." Damon told her.

"Yes Master Damon." Bonnie nodded her head and left.

Moments later the door opened once more and Stefan entered the room.

"Elena my love." Stefan said dramatically. "How are you feeling?" he asked as he bent down and pushed Damon out of the way.

"Tired." Elena replied meekly.

"Then you must rest." Stefan told her, stroking her cheek.

"Elijah should be here soon." Damon told Stefan.

"Good!" Stefan replied before they all waited in silence for the Doctor to arrive. Once he did, Damon returned to his study, knowing Elena was safe from Stefan while under the care of Elijah. That thought suddenly gave him an idea. He rushed to his bureau and took out some paper. Damon sat down at his desk and began to write.

 _Dear Dr. Gilbert,_

 _I hope this letter finds you in good health._

 _I am writing to you in regards to your daughter. My name is Damon Salvatore, I am Stefan's elder brother and the owner of the Salvatore businesses in Virginia._

 _Today Elena or Stefan should have been writing to you with great news. I was equally excited as it also relieved myself of any burden towards the continuation of the family business. Yesterday, it was discovered your daughter was carrying Stefan's child. There was great excitement within the household, especially for Elena, as she was desperate to become a mother._

 _Sadly that was not meant to be, not yet. As she was descending the stairs for dinner, she lost her balance and fell. Although Elena survived the fall, however the baby miscarried. Elena is distraught. Stefan is little better, which is why I have chosen to write to you in their stead._

 _There are a number of questions I would like to ask as I have some concerns regarding Elena's fall, which I believe only you can answer. The first one is related to laudanum. It appears Elena took two drops just before the fall. Our town Doctor says she shouldn't have felt faint with just two drops, and therefore it was deemed the pregnancy itself was responsible for her feeling lightheaded before the fall. Pray tell, has Elena ever had any problems with taking laudanum before? Since being here it is the first time she has taken any therefore I am concerned it may have ill effects upon her._

 _Elena herself took a knock to the head and was unconscious for a day. We were concerned she may not wake, however Doctor Mikaelson assured us it was a minor knock on the head. Elena cannot remember the fall, her memories of the morning are slightly hazy. She is shook up with many bruises, but no broken bones. Doctor Mikaelson says she should be fit to get out of bed in a few days time. In the meantime she needs rest. I hope that would also be your recommendations. Again he has prescribed laudanum, however due to her fall, I am reluctant for her to take it, even though Stefan is adamant she does._

 _If Elena has had any previous problems with laudanum, I need to know as a letter from you would be of great assistance in the matter. I am aware of the issues which can arise with laudanum and my dearly departed wife suffered with an addiction to it, which I do not wish to see repeated with your daughter._

 _I offer my condolences to the loss of your first grandchild. I myself am without issue, and was greatly looking forward to becoming an uncle, and hearing the laughter of a child in the house. Unless I am to marry, Elena's firstborn son will be the heir to the Salvatore business. Therefore it is in my interests Elena is well throughout any future pregnancies._

 _Right now, I think it would be of great importance to Elena to have her own family surrounding her. Therefore I would like to invite you to come stay at my home for a while. That of course, is if you have the time to spare. I believe Elena would greatly appreciate your presence._

 _I hope you will consider my invitation._

 _Yours Sincerely_

 _Damon Salvatore_

 **Thank you so much for all of your wonderful reviews so far, they are very much cherished and appreciated, I'm overwhelmed by the response to the story.** **It means a lot to know people are reading and enjoying the story and is a true motivator in me getting the chapters out on such a regular basis.**

 **If you like the story, please like, follow or review. Reviews inspire me and allow me to engage and answer questions. I always endeavor to reply to reviews via pm or respond to questions that I can answer (I won't give away any spoilers) to guest reviewers.**

 **Mandzipop.**


	20. Chapter 20

Quick update.

I haven't forgotten my stories, but life and RSI has gotten in the way. I wrote too many chapters in too short a time and I'm paying the price. It has happened before, and rest works. I have started chapter 20 and it has been plotted out but if I fight through the pain, it could end up being even longer between that one and the next chapter. I had a sneaky suspicion it was starting to flare up.

I've also been puppy hunting (with very little success). Unfortunately it requires a bit of traveling to look at puppies as we are pretty specific regarding the breed, but we haven't found the right one yet. That search is likely to be put on hold as we've exhausted a 100 mile radius and there seems to be nothing new on the horizon.

Once the RSI has eased I'll get back on it, I promise, but I can barely lift my arm, let alone type for any length of time. The last time it took 4 weeks to heal, fingers crossed it won't take that long this time.

Take Care

Mandzipop

18th April 2019 Update

So we have gotten a puppy who is completely mad and seems to take up our lives 24/7. However after attneding puppy school last night, we've discovered she should only be taking up 5 hours a day (phew), she's supposed to sleep the other 19. Anyone who's had an 8 week old cockapoo will know what we're going through. But now we know, adjustments can be made.

My time is also being taken up with Game of Thrones, but it is the last season and I'm sure I'm not alone in that.

So today I'm going to start re-reading The Pastor's Wife to get me back into the swing of things. Hopefully I should be able to get back to writing in the next couple of days as that is how long it will take me to read it.

Thank you all for your patience.

Take Care

Mandzipop


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